Following Time's Footsteps
by Stunning Sunset
Summary: During a mission, Sakura is flung back in time shortly after making a deal with Kyuubi. She wakes up in the past in the time of the Yondaime. main pairing Kaka/Saku/Kyuu. may add other pairings, depending on the results of the poll. possible reverse harem
1. Prologue

The sun was setting, its last rays illuminating a figure jumping from tree branch to tree branch swiftly. The woman, for that was what the figure was, was dressed almost exclusively in black, from her high-heeled boots to her short skirt and mesh shirt hidden underneath a long trench coat that hid the lower half of her face, as it was quite windy and cold. The only other color that could be seen on her was the white of the bandages that hid her face from the nose down and the ones covering her hands and forearms like fingerless gloves. Had she not worn her trench coat, an observer might have seen other bandages on her thighs and left shoulder, as well as on her chest, obscuring it from view and dissimulating several senbon needles in her cleavage. All of this would have indicated to a fellow ninja that the woman was a kunoichi and, judging from the ninjato lying on her back and the various well-furnished weapon pouches, she would not go down easily if attacked. All in all, only a well-trained eye could see her at the speed at which she was traveling, and even then, the ones who did would probably think twice before attacking her, for her tell-tale long mane of white hair and green eyes, as well as a certain ring and purple nails identified her as a member of the infamous Akatsuki.

The speed at which she traveled indicated that a) she had to get somewhere as soon as possible and b) it was very important. Now… what could it possibly be? A jinchuuriki to catch? A mission that went bad (or worse than it could have, like: from bad to worse)? A passionate rendez-vous that took too long? Or…_something else_? In this case, it was a "something else". A _very_ serious "something else" that could get her killed very easily and very painfully, both of which would hopefully not happen.

_Damn it, damn, damn, motherfucking DAMN! No matter how I see it, I'm screwed! Well, maybe not screwed. If it was that easy to get me six feet under, I would have been dead years ago. Still, things are not exactly peachy for me here. Damn him! I _told _him that a meeting face-to-face was out of the question! So help me, if the risks outweigh the profits, he certainly _will_ find his ass kicked all the way to Snow Country! And seeing how much he owes me, he better have a good reason for making me take even _more_ risks. Someone is in due need of a whipping, me thinks. _

She soon stopped before a cliff that loomed over her. Not feeling any intruders around and making sure not to get caught in any trap, she rapidly dispelled the henge hiding the fissure that made the entrance of the cavern that stood in front of her. She slipped in the crack before stopping in shock as she saw two shinobi she recognized very well. Panic seized her at the thought that she had been set up and she strived to escape before any of the two sensed her presence. Unfortunately for her, their heads snapped to her brusquely and they stood up as one.

Doom settled heavily in the pit of her stomach.

"_I don't want to ask this of you, but if ever you get caught, you must kill yourself before you are brought back. No one can _know _before all is over with. The contrary would be disastrous and could possibly mean the end of our world. You are our last resource. If ever something goes wrong or you get caught by _anyone_, everything we have worked so hard for would be forever doomed and any future mission would be compromised, which is why I don't have a choice in this: if you get caught, commit suicide. This is an order."_

"_Hai, I understand."_

_As she departed, she heard her shishou whisper: "I'm sorry I have to ask this of you, musume…Please forgive me…"_

Without any hesitation whatsoever, if not with a little sadness and resignation that were hidden behind dead eyes, she molded chakra to her fingertips to create chakra scalpels and swiftly brought them to her neck in order to sever her artery and end it soon without any chance of forced survival.

The two shinobi's eyes widened and the older one threw some kunai that intercepted her blades before they could touch her neck while the other jumped at her and twisted her arms behind her back, keeping her from touching the silver band on her neck, which, they knew, would have killed her much more slowly and painfully. Without waiting for her to react, he threw her on the ground, a kunai at her throat. The impact cut her breath short and made her see stars when her head impacted forcefully on the stone floor.

"Careful, we don't want to hurt her."

The other smiled sheepishly, muttering that it was a force of habit and apologizing for his reflex.

The kunoichi struggled heavily, trying to get him off of her back, forcing him to warn her that he could either knock her out or put a binding jutsu on her to immobilize her. In the end, she chose to lie still, knowing that getting her back would take days and that she could attempt to escape or kill herself before they arrived to destination.

_«No one must know, you understand? It is vital that this stays a secret. For all matters and purposes, _this_ doesn't exist."_

Seeing that she wasn't about to trash about anymore and that she dutifully stayed silent to his inquiries about her head, the younger shinobi asked, concerned : "Ne, ne, don't you recognize me? I know I changed, but still! Aren't you glad to see me, Sakura-chan?"

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Musume: dear daughter

How is it, for a start? Review and check out the poll on my profile!


	2. The Proposition

_If ever I manage to escape with my life, that old pervert is so dead for putting me in such a situation! Damn him!_

Noticing that her body was still tense, the ninja tried to appease her worries.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan! I know everything and I am here to help!"

That, though, only served to make her tense even more and her eyes turned to the older shinobi who scratched his head sheepishly.

"Maa, maa, Sakura-chan, don't look at me that way, I didn't tell him anything. You know how he is. He spied on me and Tsunade-sama as we were talking about you, and…well, you can imagine the rest. He raged on and on bout how dangerous this all was for you, before coming up with a solution to help you out. Please, before you kill him for what he's going to say, _please_ hear him out, alright?"

She stayed silent for a long time, then grudgingly nodded.

"Make it fast, Naruto."

"OK! Well, I know that chakra suppressor around your neck, you can't use medical chakra on yourself for fear that it would strangle you, and knowing what you are up to, you're prone to get in a serious mess with pretty strong people who could hurt you real bad, and then you wouldn't be able to heal yourself afterward, so I thought that if you could be like me, you know, able to heal super fast, then you'd have a better chance to come back alive. Soooo, I kinda talked to Kyuubi about it, and…"

"Wait a minute. You did _what_?" exclaimed the young kunoichi.

"Don't worry, it was perfectly safe! Anyway, I asked him if there was a way to make you heal faster and he said that short of turning you into a jinchuuriki, there was only one way that he knew of."

"I get the feeling that I will regret this, but shoot," muttered Sakura.

"Weeeeeell….He could, uh, turn you into a demon."

"SAY WHAT?!"

"Maa, maa, calm down, Sakura," said the other to appease her.

"Don't you dare to tell me to calm down, Kaka-sensei! If jinchuuriki are hunted down, imagine what would happen to me! No way, that's crazy! Let me go, you fool, before you infect me with your idiocy!"

She began to turn and toss around, forcing Naruto to release her. As soon as she was free of her movements, she got on her feet and began to inch toward the entrance of the cave.

"While this has been instructive, I find myself in no need to stay. Don't try to contact me again, I'm in dangerous waters enough as it is. With that said, so long."

She then turned around and marched purposefully away from the other shinobi. Suddenly, an object came flying at her. She caught it in midair and looked at it with a mix of anger and distaste.

"What. The. Hell. What is _this_ supposed to mean, Kakashi-sensei?" she said, flaying the chakra band around as he slouched lazily against a wall.

"That's your chance to make it work. If you turn into a demon, you'll be able to hide it by putting this chakra suppressor around your upper arm. It has been modified so that it would be able to contain a large well of demonic chakra, not your human chakra. If you do choose to become a demon, you could still use your normal chakra and modify the suppressor so that it only let through your demonic medical chakra. Although…you could not do that until a few months, so it would not change much for you immediately. I know you hate chakra suppressors, but please think this through before deciding anything."

She remained pensive for a few moments, then: "Alright, what's the catch? I know there must be one, so don't even try telling me otherwise."

"Well, there are three things. The first one is that you will have to put a henge on yourself to hide the physical changes (mostly claws, ears, eyes and tails), but that shouldn't be too difficult, seeing as you already have one on permanently," said Kakashi as he eyed the place where the green diamond on her forehead was hidden partially by her bangs. "The second one is that you'll have to wait for nine months before modifying the suppressor and you'll have to tear it off of your arm with your chakra-enhanced strength, which will tear your muscles out, but you'll be able to repair them with your medical skills with no problem. Although you'll have to do that far away from ninja, because it will release your demonic chakra in one go and trust me, they _will_ be able to feel it, as though a demon had escaped. The last one…why don't I let Naruto explain that one?"

Her green gaze then settled on the blond. After a moment, he nervously gulped and said: "Hehehe…Don't kill me, Sakura-chan, but…Kyuubi said that the only way he could make you a demoness was to mate with you. And he wants you to bear him at least one pulp. Something about "at least leaving a legacy behind" or something along these lines. I…I know that you would have to hide it from everyone, or risk being hunted down or used as a weapon or shunned like me, but…please consider it. I promise that I would not leave you alone through that. Heh. You'd be really family!"

Sakura frowned, unsure.

"You know how I feel about sex, Naruto. It's been a long while since I let someone touch me, and I intend to keep it that way. And, really, _mated?!_ Why the hell would I need to be mated? Isn't sex enough for him? It's, like, I would get married!"

"Yeah, but think about it that way: your husband would never be home, so you could still do what you want! And he said so, too. Said that you could get another mate who would protect you if you felt like it, seeing as how he's imprisoned in me."

"Okay, okay, wait a minute, there. Except for the whole "becoming an insanely powerful immortal demon and getting one as a mate and getting pregnant", why would he accept this? I mean, why would Kyuubi accept to mate with a human, let alone me?"

"Well, as I said, he hasn't got much choice, but he told me that you're the only one he deems worthy of bearing his pups. That, and he can't turn you into a demoness if you aren't mated, 'cause it's his bite that will initiate the change. Anyway, that and the pregnancy, which is why it'll take you nine months to get fully turned into a demoness. According to him, if you got turned immediately into one, you'd die from the shock. As it is, even with the chakra suppressor, you'd have to get it off once a month to let the demonic chakra run through you. If you didn't, the shock would kill you after the ninth month, when you let free the whole well of demonic chakra."

"Alright…one last thing…_if_ we do this, what would happen to the baby?"

"You'd have to keep your pregnancy hidden, and after giving birth to it, to leave it at an orphanage before contacting Ero-Sannin. He'd then go get it and bring it back to me so I could raise him."

She still was undecided and hesitated.

"What about Hinata? I know it's pretty serious between you two. Are you sure you're willing to get a baby into it? One that's not yours, even?"

"No problem, Sakura-chan! As long as it's yours, I don't mind watching over it, though I do hope that you'll come back for it one day, when this is all over," said the blond man seriously.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, resolute, she turned to her friend and nodded.

"Alright, let's do this."

She let her trench coat fall at her feet and turned to the men who hadn't moved.

"Well?"

"Um…You don't want a demon to take your virginity, Sakura-chan. That's why Kakashi-sensei is here."

_It's alright, I can do this. Relax, don't think. It's alright. No one is going to hurt you. If anything, Kakashi will be gentler than anyone else would be._

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I don't particularly like this chapter, but it is necessary to lay the basis of what is to come before the interesting part comes up. Warning: next chapter=lemon, so for those of you who don't like them, you can just skip it. This story isn't going to be all about sex. I rated it M because of the lemon, but mainly for the content (you'll see what I mean later on in the story). I could add a lemon or two to my plan if you want, but it's not necessary to the conducting of this story, so it depends on you, guys. Review and tell me if you want some more lemons. Now, go on my profile and answer the poll. Keep in mind that I only post this now because I won't have access to a computer this week-end. The next chapter should be posted the Friday of next week.


	3. What to do Now?

She divested herself of her clothes, letting her scratched-out hitai-ate fall at the top of the pile. Tonight, there were no hunter-nin, no nuke-nin, only two men and a woman who were about to be united in the oldest dance of the world. She stood gloriously in front of them, only keeping the bandages that covered the upper part of her left arm on which a red stain was visible, letting them peruse her body for signs of injuries. After a while, seeing that she seemed to be in good shape, they gave her a nod.

"Will that ever heal completely?" asked Naruto.

"Who knows? I haven't been able to find a way to do so yet. I'm afraid I'll have to learn to live with it, however hard that may be. I'm accustomed to it now."

"Still…that's not fair…"

"Life isn't fair, Naruto."

As soon as she was naked, she clasped the chakra suppressor in the middle of her upper left arm and felt it attach itself to her muscles so that if she tried to rip it off, she would tear her muscles off at the same time. It then lay snugly on her arm, looking almost like a decorative bracelet, although the runes carved into it served a more important purpose than mere decoration.

_Damn thing, how I hate you!_

As she went to a pelt conveniently placed on the ground next to a small fire, she felt the two men's eyes roam her body. Laying down on the soft fur, she looked at the men through her lashes before closing her eyes and, reclining peacefully on the animal skin with a hand on her abdomen, concentrated on her womb. It took her less time than she had thought it would to stimulate her ovaries into producing some soon-to-be-fertilized eggs, remembering when she had deliberately stopped their production long ago, and how she had never even thought of restarting it. Why would she have? It was safer that way for a kunoichi and she had no intention of being pregnant. Until now. She let out a soft sigh as it was done and motioned the now stark naked men closer.

_Well, here goes nothing.__ I hope she trusts me and won't tense too much, I'm not especially keen on hurting her_, thought Kakashi.

The silver-haired man slowly approached her and put her hands on his mask. Ever so slowly, she rolled it up and let it fall to the ground, revealing his aristocratic face to her. She let her fingers wander across his cheekbones and nose, before they lingered on his lips. She approached his face to hers, making him bend down and get on all fours above her, and put her hands at his neck, letting her fingers explore his hair as his own roamed across her body. Her half-parted lips brushed against his in a gentle caress before her tongue darted out to lick at his. They both opened their mouth wider as they pressed more firmly against each other and let their tongues dance together for a long moment. When they parted for air, she moaned as she felt his desire for her pressing against her thighs and invitingly opened them. As his erection touched her hot pussy lips, he had to bite his lips not to cry out and settled for groaning against her neck. Their hips grinded against each other, but he soon stopped her, making her mewl in protest. However, her mind soon went blank with pleasure when, after raining kisses down her toned stomach and nipping at her bellybutton, he closed his lips around her clit and sucked hard while plunging a digit in her hot, soft depths. She let out a scream of pure pleasure and closed her lags around his head, effectively trapping him in place while he added another finger. Still pumping his digits in and out of her, he added his skilled tongue to the mix and eventually replaced his finger with it, plunging as far as he could in her warm crevice. He soon had her climaxing and she released the vice-like grip she had on his hair and head, falling limp on the fur, panting and satisfied.

Smiling softly at the dazed look she had, he groped for his pants, looking for a condom, but her soft hand on his arm stopped him. He looked at her to find her shaking her head.

"If we do this, we're going to do it right."

He hesitated only for a brief moment, hovering above the green-eyed beauty, before he made his decision.

"Alright. But only if you get rid of the henge. I want to see _you_."

It was her turn to falter, but she recovered rapidly and took off the green diamond from her forehead. Immediately, scars ran along her body in pale criss-crossed lines, making her even more beautiful to the eyes of the two men, for they symbolized her endurance and her courage. They were the sign that she was strong and that that was why she was alive.

The look in his eye told her what he didn't say: she was beautiful and lovable.

She had been so afraid of his reaction that she sighed softly, causing his attention to shift to her full lips. Once more, he bent down and captured them, this time more passionately than before, and guided his tip at her entrance to tease her. She groaned in the kiss and he went to lave her breasts with affection, licking and nipping before sucking like an infant from its mother, his fingers finding her hidden nub and alternating between stroking and pinching it. Before long, he had her squirming under him. She suddenly screamed in ecstasy, her second orgasm of the day hitting her hard and didn't feel him entering her in one thrust before settling inside of her and waiting for her to adjust. Once she had regained her breath, she experimentally flexed her inner muscles, feeling only a slight twinge of pain while he bit down on his lip in pleasure.

"So? How do you feel?" he asked her in a rough voice saturated with confined lust, observing a bead of sweat roll down her neck.

"I'm fine. Move. And don't even think about not doing it because you've taken my virginity. Your job is not done yet, mister."

They began a rocking motion, slowly building up the rhythm, but it soon became unbridled by lust and before long, Kakashi was pounding into her with all his might and both were lost in the sensations.

Kakashi felt himself close to cumming, the tight coil in his belly ready to snap, and tried to pull out, but her ankles hooked behind him and pulled firmly on his buttocks, pulling him flush against her, and flexed her inner muscles. She put her hands on his head and pushed it to her neck while imprisoning his ear in her teeth and felt him shudder, a strangled moan leaving his mouth.

"Let it go," she murmured and, without leaving him time to recover, she clamped down hard on his cock, milking it for all its worth, both of their screams of ecstasy mingling in the cave as they came together, breathing erratically. When they came down from their high, she felt a liquid roll down from her neck and put her hand to the juncture of her neck and shoulder, feeling the deep bite wound. A lazy smile crossed her face and she looked down at the man in her arms, herself trapped in his. His eyes landed on the mark and he buried his face in her chest.

"Kami, Sakura, I'm so sorry! I should have had more control over my body. In fact, I should have pulled out. What if I get you pregnant?"

"Don't worry, Kakashi. I intended to make you lose control and _I_ pushed you back in me. Anyway…let it be my gift to you," she said calmly.

_So that you'll have something to remember me by. You don't know it yet, but my unique technique will kill me, it's only a matter of time before it does. And I know that you don't want to be the last Hatake._

Silent, she turned to the blond, observing how he had let his hair grow during her absence. She found herself thinking that he looked more and more like the Fourth Hokage, except that at this moment, his normally brilliant blue eyes had been replaced by ruby red ones. Nervousness dwelled in her stomach. Would he be rough and hurt her? She had already had three orgasms and wondered if he would take into account that she was tired.

It was strange to see her best friend, whom she considered as an annoying little brother, move toward her with grace and poise and looking at her with such lust and know that it wasn't Naruto standing before her, but the Kyuubi, the demon who had tried to annihilate Konoha, and that they were about to mate. Realizing that she would be the mate of the most powerful of the demons and that she would bear his pup(s), which would change her into a demon herself made her feel light-headed.

The Kyuubi gathered her in his arms and gently nipped at her collarbone.

"Don't worry, Blossom, I won't hurt the mother of my future pups."

She shuddered at the sensation and felt his grin against her heated skin. He then moved on to the pulse point under her ear and she became a puddle of goo under him. Satisfied, he eased back, looking at her flushed complexion and darkened eyes peering at him behind lowered lids, and bent down to capture her lips parted invitingly for him. His kiss was all flame and passion, and she answered his challenge fervently, tongues dancing together lasciviously, proving that she was a fighter.

_You'll __be a strong mate, Blossom, but you still need protection. I shall leave you a gift to help you with that._

The fiery vixen was arousing him more and more and he ground his arousal against her core to make her feel it. Her nails raked across her back at the dizzying sensation and arousal that flared through her. Pinching her nipples, he swallowed her moans and let a hand wander down to her cunt. He pressed a finger into the tight, hot tunnel, felling it slippery with a mixture of cum and precum juices. Beginning a motion with his finger that reminded her of what was to come, he pinched her clit between his thumb and forefinger. She gasped and writhed, feeling close to the edge, but just as she was about to climax, he stopped and turned her on her hands and knees and entered her in a smooth, powerful thrust.

She felt so full and he was so deep in her that she closed her eyes and let the sensations overwhelm her, bucking her hips against his, as he thrust again and again in her with an almost ferocious lust. The sharp slap of skin on skin resonated in the cavern, their shadows dancing across the walls thanks to the fire. Eventually, his thrusts became erratic and, after pounding a few more time in her, he pushed deeper than ever before in her love channel and released his hot seed in her womb at the same time as biting down on the other side of her neck to mark her. He flopped down on his side on the fur, the kunoichi in his arms, without pulling away from the sheath encompassing his now limp member. Sluggishly, Sakura reached out to Kakashi, taking his arm and pulling him to her. He lazily put an arm around both her and Naruto's body and closed his eyes, having imprinted the passionate lovemaking in his memory. Kyuubi left the control of the body to a half-asleep Naruto, who promptly fell asleep. Among the snores the blond made, the other two ninja chuckled and soon followed his lead.

After all the excitement, the cave soon returned to a silence punctuated only by the snores of its occupants.

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Hitai-ate: forehead protector

Kami: god

So, what do you say? Did it suck or was it okay? Vote now: other lemons (_later_ on in the story) or not? And don't forget the poll on my profile! Another thing: reviews make me update faster! _**No one reviewed my second chapter and if no one does either for this one, I may remove this story, as I will take it that you don't like it.**_


	4. Fighting to Stay Alive

So, should I add lemons later on in the story or not? And keep in mind that I want reviews and they make me update faster! I'm posting this now because I'm in a happy mood, by the way. Thanks for my wonderful reviewers. I won't name you, because you know who you are, but I'd like to thank you. It's because of you that this chapter is put up for everyone to read.

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Sakura woke up to a feeling of warmth and protection. She snuggled closer to the source of the warmth with a happy sigh before analysing the situation. Surprisingly enough, she felt safe, which hadn't happened to her in years, as danger constantly lurked around her. Even more, she didn't tense at feeling the two shinobi's limbs fold over hers. As good as she felt, she knew that she had to get a move on and slowly extricated her body from their arms and legs, feeling slightly sore from the passionate sex they had had a few hours ago. Naruto's soft member slipped from her and she felt somewhat empty, which astonished her.

_Kami, what's becoming of me?_ She thought with a silent chuckle.

Toward the back of the cavern was a small pond nestled in the rock where an underground river emerged before re-entering the rock a few meters away. She slipped in it and cleaned her body as fast as possible without making too much noise. Looking at her reflection while she bathed, she noticed that her appearance had indeed changed somewhat. Two silver fox ears rested atop her head, twitching with every sound, and her nails had changed into claws. She now had fangs that pointed on her lips and nine tails that lazily swished behind her.

_Guess that's because of who my mate is._

Bemused, she also noticed that her bite marks had receded, leaving only pale scars on her skin.

_How strange. Does that always happen with mating marks?_

She touched the mark that Kakashi had bestowed upon her and bit her lip.

_He's going to hate the fact that we're mated, I bet__. Kakashi, tied down? That would ruin his reputation. I suppose if I hide it, no one has to know, and he won't have to deal with the repercussions. Ah, well, I'll deal with it when I have to._

She donned her clothing and put her green diamond back on her forehead, felling it hide her scars, then put a henge on her demonic features and linked it to her new chakra suppressor, so that unless she took it off, the henge would not drop. Her eyes caught sight of a packet next to the extinguished fire. Curious, she went to it and opened the letter laying on top of it that had a strange bulge at the base.

_Hey, Sakura-chan!_

_I hope you won't take too many risks! This is something that Gaara left with me. He said that it was to thank you for saving his life. He didn't say too much about it, just that you had saved him from a pretty tight spot. Anyway, that's supposed to protect you, so I can't not give this to you, eh? Seeing as how you need every bit of protection you can get. Burn this letter once you've finished reading it._

_Love,_

_Naruto_

_P.S. That's Gaara's story that made me spy on baa-chan, so if you have to hit someone, hit him!_

She snorted.

_Baka._

Looking at what she held in her hand, she noticed that the necklace's pendant was actually a little crystal bottle filled with sand.

_Is that…his sand?_

She was surprised to feel a slight demonic spark to the sand. Feeling a bit foolish, she whispered : "Shukaku?"

The demonic spark increased for a second before settling down again. The sand in the bottle began to flow almost restlessly.

_Wow. Sentient sand, eh? Geez, Gaara, you sure wanted to make sure that I was not hurt._

"Hey, Shukaku, you're not going to try to kill me, are you?"

The sand stopped moving.

"Can you control sand other than the one in the bottle? Maybe sand that's in contact with the one in the bottle?"

The sand began moving again.

_What a crazy situation._

Then, she looked at the packet and bent down to open it. She was surprised to find a gigantic scroll that reminded her of the one Naruto wore on his back nowadays. She opened it and nearly fell in shock.

_The fox contract? Did Naruto have it? No, he couldn't, it would have been known and he would have mentioned it in his letter. Not Kakashi either. Which means…Kyuubi?_

Her head swam because of all of the information and the implications. Almost trembling, she put on the necklace and fastened the scroll on her back after signing her name on it. With a last look at the sleeping men, she stepped out of the cave, remembering how she had helped Gaara. In all truth, he could have been fine without her help. He would have probably spent some time in the hospital, but he would have won against the shinobi who were against him. Probably. She had been near and had heard the commotion, so she had decided to investigate the matter and had been no the end of a blow coming from a Rock ninja who had felt her presence. Soon, the others saw her and began to attack her, instead of the injured and nearly paralyzed Kazekage, figuring that they could get him later. Of course, Gaara was still able to use his sand, but the poison gas had got to him and he could barely move his limbs. She had had to fight those men hell-bent on getting her head and had gotten a few injuries while trying to distract them from their original goal. In the end, she had been the only one left standing and had thrown a vial at the Kazekage, which he had caught in midair without too much difficulty. He had looked at it and when his head had come up again, she had been gone, already going back to her partner who was waiting for her at a nearby town.

Jumping from branch to branch, she donned her mask of cold indifference. She was back in the game. She could only hope that her absence had not been noticed. Unfortunately, after a few hours of running, she had to stop dead in her tracks. In front of her, battered and tied to the trunk of a high tree, were three Konoha ANBU she recognized with a painful twinge in her chest. Her eyes roved over their forms, scanning for injuries, before looking at their masked faces. Hiding in the foliage as she was and hiding her chakra, she doubted that they were aware of her presence. They were somewhat dazed, in a pretty bad shape, and if they had not gotten out of their bonds, chances were that they were drained of chakra and energy. Which meant that if anybody came, they could be taken as hostages without much resistance. Sighing, she jumped from her tree branch, landing softly on the moss-covered forest floor. She took a kunai from her pouch and approached the tree tied ninja. Just as she was about to cut through the ropes, a deep voice resonated in the clearing.

"I assume that you're going to kill them, _are you not? _Tell me you didn't forget that your loyalty is not to your old village anymore, but to Akatsuki."

She whirled around and came face-to-face with the elusive secret leader of Akatsuki.

"Now, don't let me stop you. Go on, kill them."

"I thought I had made it clear that I would not kill for no reason. They are of no threat to me or the organization, particularly in their current state."

"Oh, you do have a reason. I tied them just for you and it wasn't a suggestion. Either you kill them, or I will be forced to kill you for treason."

As fearsome as he was, she was not about to back down.

"Yeah, and lose your only medic-nin. Forget it, I'm not doing it."

They stared at each other for a while, until one of the ANBU whispered: "Taichou…"

Her eyes snapped to him, and it was all the leader needed to attack her. In no time, he was upon her, hands locked in hand seals. She had to jump out of the way of a gigantic fireball and sent a wave of senbon flying at him. He deflected them all and retaliated with a rain of fireballs. This time, no matter how she tried, she could not escape them all and ended up getting caught below her ribs. She crashed to the ground, hacking blood. She saw him run to her, kunai in hand, and pounded into the ground with her elbow, creating deep cracks. He had to sidestep them to regain his footing. Boulders were then thrown at him with her superhuman strength and he decided that he'd had enough. He flicked a mix of senbon and kunai at the still tied-up ANBU and watched with satisfaction as her eyes widened and she threw herself in front of them, using a kunai in each hand to deflect his weapons. However, she had not expected him to tie chakra strings to them. With a casual movement of his wrists, they once more sailed in the air and embedded themselves in her body, the chakra strings tying around her and cutting deep in her skin. Another flick of the wrist, and the weapons were torn violently from her body, the strings cutting her once again like a whip. Blood rolled down on her skin, darkening her clothes. She swayed dangerously, but managed to remain standing.

"Now, now, Sakura, why don't you just die, already?" he taunted. "You're in a pretty bad shape, ne? But still you stand. Seems like you can withstand quite a bit of physical pain. What about mental one? Now, let's see how you fare against my ultimate sharingan."

"Go hang yourself, Madara!" she spat, her lips tainted red by blood.

Black was tainted red and she fixed her eyes resolutely on his feet.

More weapons sailed past her, forcing her to jump in a tree. She saw a little brown pug barge on the battleground, followed closely by the two men she had left in the cave. Constantly changing her location, she began her signature jutsu. Her fingers rapidly went through the 256 hand signs needed, but she was distracted by various cries from her former team mates, feeling the demon in Naruto seep through his tight hold, the red chakra swirling around him.

"Look out!"

"Sakura-chan! Leave her alone, you teme! Rasengan!"

Three things happened simultaneously. Madara suddenly appeared at her feet, catching her in his sharingan and freezing her fingers, stopping her from finishing her jutsu, Naruto's demonic energy slammed into her, even as Gaara's sand protected her from the Rasengan, and, with a burst of light, she disappeared.

**************

Baka: idiot

Taichou: captain

Teme: bastard

Read and review, people! Don't forget the poll on my profile!


	5. Trapped in the Past

Sorry for not updating yesterday as I was supposed to, but I had urgent things to do, so...yeah, shame on me. Anyway, enjoy!

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Trapped in a world of black and red, Sakura had no consciousness of what happened to her. Her body slammed to the ground heavily, staining the snow crimson with her blood. Nearby, a little fox's ears and nose twitched and it rapidly set out to find the one who had recently appeared out of nowhere. It took only a few minutes for it to find the strange woman who smelled like a fox. Curious, it approached her cautiously and sniffed at her. Even though her eyes were open, she gave no indication that she had seen him. It strenuously pushed her into a sitting position before, standing on her abdomen, sliding her hitai-ate over her eyes. Its nose registered a covered scent on her neck and sniffed at it cautiously. Suddenly, it knew why it had been attracted so strangely to her. She was none other than the foxes' leader's mate! Maybe she knew what had happened to the great Kyuubi, who had suddenly disappeared a while ago.

Unfortunately, she was injured and would no doubt freeze to death. That is, if she didn't die from blood loss or the extent of her injuries. Its decision was made. It would find help for her and stay with her until she could inform it of the whereabouts of the Kyuubi.

With that in mind, it ran through the woods, dodging branches left and right, and came upon a snow-laden road. Further up that road was a man who was walking calmly and whistling a merry tune. Now, how to get his attention?

In the end, it decided to sit in the middle of the road, effectively cutting his path. Thus, the man eventually stopped, curious about the fox that did not seem to be afraid of him. How strange.

"Now, now, little guy, I need to pass. Why don't you return to the forest, hm?"

The fox merely angled its head on the side and looked at him. It then yipped and bounced toward the forest, stopping and looking at him with its brilliant eyes. Intrigued, the man followed the animal, wondering why the hell an animal would want him to follow it. Sighing, he made his way to the woods, grumbling that the snow was cold for his feet. Suddenly, the fox ran faster, growling. Surprised, he followed it and found it drive away a wild dog from the body of the bloody kunoichi.

A gasp escaped him at her sight. Her long mane of white hair was tainted red by her own blood and he could not see her face, for its lower part was covered with bandages, forming a sort of mask, and a hitai-ate hid her eyes. He cautiously approached her, determining already that she must have had an encounter with some hunter-nin or nuke-nin, judging by her injuries and scratched-out hitai-ate.

He glanced at the fox sitting on its rear end next to the kunoichi and carefully took her in his arms.

"You know, buddy, she won't make it if she stays in this cold. I've gotta take her to a town, and after that, seeing as how she's a nuke-nin from Konoha, I guess I'll have to bring her there. I hadn't intended to go there, but hey, times change."

The fox merely jumped and settled on the hips of the unconscious woman. Soon after, the man began to run at great speeds, stopping only once in an inn to treat some of the cuts and bandage her wounds before heading to Konohagakure. He would have tried to take off the bandages covering her face, but the fox threatened to snap his fingers if he did.

At the gates, the guards merely took a look at him and the still-unconscious woman whose head rested on his shoulder before letting him pass.

Less than half an hour later, the Hokage met him at the cell in which he had installed the young woman. She now lay on a small cot, not reacting to anything that went on around her.

Both looked at her for a moment.

"Well, do you recognize her, Sandaime-sama?"

"Iie, I don't, Jiraiya. I don't remember seeing her in our Bngo book, either, nor among our ninja. Are you sure she is one of our nuke-nin?" said the intrigued Hokage.

"Hai. She must have been ANBU, too: she has the tattoo on her shoulder. It looks like someone tried to carve it out of her skin."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's like someone took a scalpel and drew the contour of the tattoo, as though to cut it out of her shoulder. Maybe to transplant it on someone else or by sadism, to make a parody of who she used to be. Either way, she must have fought those guys before escaping and falling where I found her. Look at this."

Jiraiya detached her hitai-ate and Sarutobi gasped, looking at her blank gaze. A feeling of dread crept up inside of him.

"This could not be…it would be impossible for her to…no, we must be sure…" he mumbled.

He turned to a guard stationed at the door.

"Bring me Yamanaka Akira!" barked the leader of the village.

As the guard left, Sarutobi looked back at the young woman. He had seen much in his life, but this shook him up greatly. If it was what he thought it was…

"What's going on, sensei? Is there a problem?"

The Hokage mused a moment, tapping his finger against his chin. He turned to look at his ex-student and gestured to the unconscious kunoichi.

"The thing is…she looks like a person I saw once who had been caught in a special kind of genjutsu."

"What was it? What does it do?"

"It captures the person in an alternate reality created by the one who performs the jutsu and where everything is under his or her command. It is known among the Uchiha as the Mangekyo sharingan."

"What? You mean she ran into an Uchiha? But if she's still alive, it means that one of the Uchiha is dead. Did you receive any news of this?"

"Iie. In fact, none of the Uchiha was sent on a mission anywhere close to where you found this kunoichi. And even then, it seems almost impossible for her to be caught in the Mangekyo sharingan, because it is a doujutsu, meaning that the jutsu only works as long as the victim maintains eye contact with the one who uses the Mangekyo. What's more, no Uchiha is known to have gained the Mangekyo sharingan in a long time, because it is rumoured that one must kill his best friend in order to gain it. However, her expression is exactly alike the one I saw on the face of a victim of the Mangekyo when I was young. Granted, it was only during a second, because three days pass in the world of Tsukuyomi during a second in this world, but I never forgot it. If indeed she is trapped in the Tsukuyomi or another similar jutsu…I doubt we could interrogate her even if we could free her from the jutsu. Her mind would be broken by then."

Both men stayed silent then, wondering what would happen of the woman who had them thus intrigued. They did not have long to ponder, however, as the guard came back, a middle-aged man in tow. They both bowed and the blond man entered the cell with surprise written across his face.

"Ah, Akira. It is good to see you."

"To what do I owe the honour, Hokage-sama?" asked the Yamanaka.

"I want you to take a look at the mind of this kunoichi," said the older man while pointing at Sakura. "She is most probably trapped in a special genjutsu and I want to know if you can break it while in her mind."

"Hai."

The thought of going through a nuke-nin's head did not enthuse him, but he had no choice in the mater and it was, after all, the Yamanaka signature jutsu. Sighing mentally and thinking of the bottle of sake he had left at home, he plunged into Sakura's head, only to emerge a fraction of a second later and throw up his dinner on the stone floor. Shaken up and trembling, he tried to quench the horror he had seen. He took a few deep breaths to calm down and then faced the Hokage and the Sannin.

"You wanted to know if I can break the jutsu? I can't. I've tried to do it, but to no avail. That woman…from what I could gather, she's probably the strongest and most loyal person I've ever seen. She's no threat to Konoha, I can guarantee it."

"Are you sure?" asked Sarutobi, frowning.

"Positive. No one should be subjected to _that._ If ever she gets out of that jutsu, don't try to stop her if she tries to kill herself. I think she may react badly. And don't touch her, she'll probably shy from physical contact from anybody."

"Well, she was okay when I carried her here," said Jiraiya. "Although now, she's pretty tense."

"Then I'd suggest you stay with her. Being tense like that is no good. And bring her to the hospital."

"Akira," said Sarutobi seriously, "_what_ did you see?"

"I…I'll write you a report. It should be on your desk in an hour or two. If you have any questions, you'd better ask me tomorrow, because I fully intent to get drunk today to forget all of this ever happened. If you'll excuse me."

With that said, he bowed and exited the room as fast as possible without seeming too rude and rushed.

The two men left behind looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

"Well…" began Sarutobi.

"I should get her to the hospital."

"Yeah, let's do that."

Decidedly, that woman was becoming more and more intriguing.

*************

Iie: no

Hai: yes

Okay, the introduction is coming to an end, now, the real fun will begin! Now, it's time for you to review, because reviews make me happy! (A happy author means reviews more quickly)

Time for a poll: I may make this a reverse harem story, so who do you want Sakura to be with? (Keep in mind that Kakashi and Kyuubi are her main mates) Here are the choices, but you can add others if you want to, although I won't feel obligated to do it, because it may not fit in this story (sorry to all sasusaku fans, but Sasuke won't be a part of it, it wouldn't fit in my plans).

Jiraiya

Itachi

Kisame

Deidara

Sasori (or any other member of Akatsuki)

Gaara (I still don't know whether to make him only a very good friend/protector or one of Sakura's lovers)


	6. The Sleeping Kunoichi

Guess what, everyone? I'm in a good mood, so I'm giving you the next chapter now. And for those of you who wondered, I don't own Naruto (surprised, eh?). Thanks for the reviews. And I've got a wonderful reviewer who wants me to put Sakura with Jiraiya. Jiraiya will be present in this story, because I like him, but it's up to you if he'll be just a very good friend or a potential lover. Cheers! :)

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The sun had long since set, but at the top of his tower, the Hokage of Konohagakure was still at work. His eyes regularly sought the report that Akira had written a few hours earlier and his mind constantly strayed to the unconscious kunoichi in the hospital who, even now, was being tortured mentally. According to the Yamanaka, he had been plunged into a world of red and black in which a multitude of copies of the young woman (and multitude was a lesser word, for there had been copies of her for as far as he could see) being raped, whipped and beaten, and in general simply being tortured. They were also continuously pierced with a multitude of katana. The worst was that while the woman was able to feel the pain as well as if she had been tortured in that way out of that reality, she could not die from it and was forced to bear the pain for as long as it would last. The thought sickened the old man. He could almost picture the words that had been said between the woman and her torturer, having read them again and again, enough so that they were engraved in his mind.

"_Why don't you just give me what I want? Maybe then, I would spare you and kill you."_

"_Fuck you, you sadistic psycho! I've got nothing to say to you!" spat the kunoichi._

"_How unfortunate. You know, if I killed you, no one would mourn you. For all intents and purposes, you _really_ are a nuke-nin. Your own village disowned you and put you on the black list. You are hunted by your own, so why protect them? Why protect the ones who don't even know of your existence or have forgotten you?"_

"_Because I choose to do so. I alienated myself of my own volition, the others know nothing of this. Because…" she had to stop talking, as she hacked blood. "I abhor all that you stand for…Even if I've erased my very existence…Konoha will always be my home…I'll always protect the village…"_

"_I admit that your loyalty is surprising. Surprisig, but annoying. I had not thought that you would voluntarily become a pariah just to get to me, even though you didn't know whether I existed or not. Putting your life on the line without even being sure it will be a win…and Konoha doesn't even know that you are the perfect example of their ideal ninja! Don't you find that ironic? Anyway, as a former ANBU operative and knowing what you had access to, I think that I will keep you alive so you can tell me all of Konoha's secrets."_

_At that, the kunoichi laughed hollowly._

"_So you say, but it's been _years_ in this reality and I still haven't told you anything." She stopped once again, panting, to draw some air in her pierced lungs. "What makes you think I will crack now? I'm prepared to die for Konoha, but first, I'll get out of this jutsu and when I do…I'll hunt you down and kill you."_

"_Don't make me laugh. I have much more experience than you and you could never beat my speed."_

"_You didn't seem so peachy when we fought, and I hadn't even used my more destructive powers."_

"_What?"_

"_You didn't think that I had revealed all of my cards to you, did you? Oh no, I still have a couple of aces up my sleeve."_

_At that moment, having seen enough, Akira had decided to leave._

Sighing, the Hokage massaged his temples. This was tiring him more than he had thought it would. And the day had begun so well…Ah, well, he would soon step down and leave all this hard work to Namikaze Minato. The young man had a lot of potential and would be a wonderful Hokage, that much he knew. And then he could spend his time reading rare scrolls. Taking a sip of tea, he went to the window and looked at the hospital where a few windows were lighted by lamps, shadows of nurses dancing in the rooms. How truly troubling…Even though he had looked through his archives for traces of her existence, the kunoichi did not appear to have even existed. He had not expected her files to have been destroyed, but maybe that was what she had meant when she had said that she had erased her existence. If that was so, she truly had disappeared from Konoha's memory. He shuddered, thinking of what she must have been through. Voluntarily alienating oneself for her village was bad enough, but doing it when no one knew of her noble goal was even more excruciating. He could only imagine it. Being hunted day after day, both by hunter-nin and other nuke-nin, all for finding information about a man she had not even been sure existed. And find him she had, apparently, but after how many _years_ of research?

He shook his head. That woman, whoever she was, was a hero. It was only sad that he could not express his gratitude to her in her state and could do absolutely nothing to help her. How truly sad. He would have hoped that she could have told him about her self-imposed mission and the man she had tracked down and then offered her to continue her mission incognito or stay in Konoha as a normal kunoichi. She could have been a great addition to Konoha's ninja.

For now, he would wait for his successor to show up. He should be back from his mission soon.

The sun was shining brightly, illuminating the hospital room. Sakura was still unconscious, looking, to the casual passersby, as though she was just sleeping. This, knew the Sannin in the room, was so far from the truth it could almost have been funny in any other situation. Her eyes would have still been open without the bandages they had been covered with and that then encircled her head to stay in place. Looking at her white hair, he had thought that she must have been at least fifty years old, and the green diamond on her forehead, akin to the one on his old team mate's head, added to the fact that she had been undercover for years and that visibly, no one knew her, had led him to think that she must have been at least as old as he was, if not more, and that she was under a henge to hide her true appearance.

How wrong he'd been. In reality, she couldn't have been much older than twenty years-old. He now regretted that they had taken off her diamond to see what her true face was in order to identify her, for it then revealed that her body was covered in scars which were characteristic of torture. He felt that they had violated her and her secrets. After all, if she wished to hide those marks, who could blame her for her secrecy? Many kunoichi did, for seduction missions that required showing skin could not be achieved if the woman's body was scarred, as it would immediately identify her as a ninja and ruin the mission. For all he knew, that could have been the case for her. Even though she was scarred, he could not help but find her beautiful. For him, those scars meant that she was strong, and this impression was confirmed by her resistance to the mental torture she was subjected to. If the Sandaime was right, she must have suffered for years in that hellhole of hers. Strangely enough, her body, while unconsciously shying away from all touch, was at ease when he came near, which was why the Hokage had assigned him to stay with her. However, as this was a time of war, the hospital was full and could not spare a bed for him in the small room she had been allocated. He had been aghast when Sarutobi, smiling, had told him that he would have to sleep in her bed with her and that if he tried anything, he would personally make sure that his manhood suffered for his indiscretions. He would not have told him for anything, as it would have ruined his reputation, but he would not have touched her anyway. He felt too deep a respect for her to do this while she was unconscious and he was not _that_ low.

That arrangement had unfortunate consequences for him, however, as that very morning, a nurse had walked in on him while he was sleeping. In his sleep, he had put an arm around the beautiful white-haired woman and the nurse, knowing his reputation, but not warned that he would be staying with Sakura, had shrieked loudly before hitting him with her folder, calling him a pervert and berating him for taking advantage of "a poor, defenceless woman". Between ducking blows, he had tried to explain that a) a kunoichi was not what you'd usually describe as "defenceless", b) he had been ordered by the Hokage to stay with her, c) he could not really sleep anywhere else than with her and d) he had not done anything to her. Now, sporting a bump on the head and a bruised ego, he sat on a chair and observed the courageous woman. Once her bandages had been removed, a soft face had been revealed to his eyes, but she had once again surprised him. On her right cheek was a tattoo saying: "killer captain", the dark strokes of the traditional Japanese characters only adding to the aura of the woman. He found that it did not mar her face as it would have another's. Maybe she was an ANBU captain (or had been, in any case), as it looked like a tattoo one would get done while drunk or spurred on by a bet. That would mean that she had been quite young when she had become an ANBU operative, which dubbed her, if not as a genius, at least very intelligent. Below her left ear, the characters stopping before they reached the junction of her shoulder, another black tattoo was displayed. This time, it was written: "protector", "poison" and "death". This one he had no clue what to think of. Maybe it simply meant that she used poisons often, but that was a mere conjecture. He had noticed yet another tattoo, this time covering her whole back, but this one was in color and represented a blooming sakura tree, under which lay a sleeping fox and a wolf tied on a pole like a scarecrow. That one indicated that it was very important to her. He did not know who the elements symbolized, but she was probably one of them. Lastly, there were strange tattoos on her arms. There were black bands on her fingers and wrists like rings and bracelets. He had noticed that the "rings" were half-an-inch wide and the bracelets were four times as wide. Surprisingly, the "rings" seemed to be on different fingers from her left hand to her right: on her left, her pinky, forefinger and thumb, and her thumb, middle finger and her ring finger on her right one. Born at her wrists, but not touching her "bracelets", a series of black bands undulated like flames, or maybe waves, until her elbows, dying as they reached them. These tattoos bore no significance to him, but they must have had some to her, although he had no idea what that could be. As she had hidden them beneath bandages, maybe she wanted to hide them, but he had no idea why. Hidden by her hair, a small, black metallic-like bar pierced the shell of her left ear in two places like a strange earring. And then, there was the matter of her white hair. He knew of no one beside him who had such a hair color. He doubted she could be a relative, because he had none and she probably wasn't his daughter, even though he had slept with a certain number of women, for he was sure that her mother would have tried to contact him and, through his network of informants, he would have learned of it by then.

He mused and pondered, but the young kunoichi who was causing him so much turmoil slept on, having yet to emerge from her personal hell.

It was a week after she had been found that Sakura brutally woke up, screaming at the top of her lungs.

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Okay, don't hit me. I know not much happened in this chapter, but in the next one, Sakura wakes up and all hell breaks loose!


	7. Waking up to Hell

It so happened that Sakura woke up during a moment when Jiraiya had gone to get Minato, whose team member Kakashi had gotten admitted in the hospital. Her only companion had been replaced by an ANBU who jumped down from his perch on the ceiling at her yell and tried to placate her, ignoring the growling fox under the bed.

As soon as his hand touched her shoulder, she whirled around, ceasing her screams, and engaged in taijutsu with him. The sounds resonated in the corridor, making Jiraiya, Minato and one of Minato's team mates, Uchiha Obito, hurry up. The spectacle they were met with astonished them. The woman, even as the bandages remained on her eyes, was easily handling the ANBU and was constantly evading his attacks. As soon as they entered the room, her head turned in their direction and, taking the hand of the ANBU, pushed it right at her heart, the kunai he held plunging in her chest.

The other shinobi could only watch, aghast, as she slumped to the floor, blood steadily flowing from her wound, seeping into her clothes. The ANBU remained standing in the middle of the room, looking dumbly at the mass that was once a fiery kunoichi who'd had no trouble evading his attacks.

Minato and Jiraiya rushed forward, pushing medical chakra to her heart to force it to continue beating, yelling at Obito to get a medic-nin. The woman's lips opened and closed a few times before she managed to whisper a "why?" that surprised them.

The room was soon swarmed with a bunch of medics who tried to keep the young woman among the living. It took them quite a bit of effort, but they finally managed it and the room became calm once again, the storm having passed. The woman was laid to rest in the bed and the shinobi who had come to see her remained standing, observing her. Obito had left to return to Kakashi's side and tell Rin and the silver-haired "pain in the ass" how "amazingly cool the woman was".

"So?" asked Jiraiya. "Do you recognize her? Anything about her?"

"No, not in the least. Should I?" answered Minato without taking his eyes from the still form of the white-haired woman.

"Apparently, she's a Leaf kunoichi who alienated herself to find a very dangerous and elusive man she wasn't totally sure existed. We think she was hurt when fighting against him. We know that she was an ANBU captain before going on that self-imposed mission. You saw how easily she handled the ANBU who was here. You really have no idea who she might be?"

"With that white hair? Your daughter, I'd say."

Minato chuckled, even as his ex-sensei bopped him over the head.

"No, seriously, I have no idea. But if she erased all of her records, our chances are pretty slim. And as an ANBU, her file would have been confidential, so she must have had to steal it, maybe even put a decoy in its place. But look at the bright side: she's awoken once, so she can do it again. Didn't you say she was stuck in a genjutsu?"

"She was. I can only assume she managed to escape from it by herself, which, according to Yamanaka Akira-san, is quite a feat, seeing as how he didn't manage to do it himself, and you know how good he is at that."

Jiraiya sighed and scratched his head.

"That woman is a load of trouble, I tell you. She's amazing, of that there is no doubt, but I'll be damned if she doesn't manage to make me age twenty years in under thirty minutes!"

A soft, almost lilting voice interrupted him. Both men whirled around, surprised, only to realize that the woman they were talking about had awoken to their banter and had been listening to them for a while.

"You won't die from it and you just may become mature. You know you're like a cockroach anyway: even if you step on it, it won't die."

She had a cheeky grin on her face and a spark was visible in her otherwise cold and serious eyes. Jiraiya spluttered at being compared to a cockroach.

"What, don't you agree? When women see a cockroach, they try to kill it, and isn't it their reaction toward you? Particularly when you spy on them bathing? Ne, _otou-san?_"

The younger man snorted while the older one muttered that he only did it as research material for his books, to which Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Riiiight. I totally believe that," she said with a straight face and a mountain of sarcasm.

"Now, now, Jiraiya-sama, give the poor lady a chance, she just escaped a fearsome genjutsu, she has a right to be…er…teasing…"

Sakura took in the appearance of the man. While he was eerily similar to Naruto, his clothes were different, and Naruto would never have called Jiraiya by such an honourable title. Either he was an impostor, which she doubted (everyone knew Naruto and impersonating him successfully wasn't too difficult) or…

She looked out of the window, but she had no view of the Hokage mountain. Feeling dread well up inside of her, and even feeling a little light-headed, she did not listen to the two men who continued to talk while keeping an eye on her and quickly ripped off the tubes attached to her arms. Not caring that she was covered only by the bandages on her chest, hiding her breasts and the cut she had made at her heart, and a pair of white hospital loose pants, she threw herself out of the window, not caring that she was on the seventh floor. She fell down spread-eagled, looking as the ground rushed to meet her, and did a front flip to land on the ground on one knee, bracing herself with her arms, before running off, not caring that people were looking at her, mouth wide open. Above her, Jiraiya and Minato looked at each other, gaping.

"Did she actually?"

"Yeah, she did."

"Oh, shit."

"We should follow her."

They proceeded to do just that, staying out of sight, even though she could probably sense their presence. The woman ran straight to the Hokage tower, but she ignored totally the entrance where a few ninja looked at her strangely, ready to stop her if necessary, only to run straight to the top. She did not go to the Hokage office as her followers thought she would, but chose to perch right at the very top, looking in the direction of the Hokage mountain. When they arrived, she was staring blindly, dazed, murmuring over and over: "only three…only three…", tears running down her cheeks freely.

To her eyes, the mountain severely lacked two heads. In her mind's eye, she could see them clearly: the head of Naruto's father, and the head of her master, yet they were not on the mountain, and it looked as though they had never been. She had felt herself hyperventilate before going numb, repeating what was, to her, impossible. She could not have gone back in time, her jutsu was not supposed to do that, yet she apparently had, and she had even tried to kill herself to keep her mission a secret when she had finally managed to escape from the Tsukuyomi. She was royally screwed.

Since then, she had not moved, almost never blinking, and had stayed prone and silent.

Jiraiya and Mnato had tried everything to get her out of her shell, but nothing had worked. Jiraiya had even told her that she could continue calling him otou-san if she wanted to, if only she came back from wherever her mind had wandered off to. The fox had lain on the bed and fallen asleep by then, leaving the humans to their affairs.

It was now night and she was sitting on the windowsill, looking at the full moon, its silvery mass illuminating her white hair, making it shine like a halo around her. She felt the slight breeze coming through the window, lifting some strands of hair from her face, but didn't acknowledge it. She had no idea, but to the people seeing her, she was the very epitome of a moon nymph, an angel who had come down to Earth and whose wings had been clipped, thinking of things that mere mortals could not understand. Ninja and civilians alike were subjugated, desiring only a glance from the nymph, yet getting none and never daring to go speak to her. Long into the night did she stay up, looking at the starred sky and wondering what was happening in her time, if her friends had survived and were now looking at the sky too, wondering where she was.

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Otou-san: father

Alright, not much in this chapter either. Shame on me. Still, review! I hope Sakura's attitude and actions weren't too difficult to understand....


	8. Preparations and Getting Used to Life

Ok, I know I should have updated earlier, but life got in the way. Lame, right? Please don't throw me tomatoes. Anyway, this is more of an introductory chapter for....KAKASHI! Now, if you guys want to know more and to remind me to update soon (like, before Wednesday), you'll have to review! If you do, I promise you two chapters next week! Good deal, right? So you know what you've gotta do!

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Having finally decided that she would try her best to change certain events from happening, Sakura stepped down from the windowsill and noticed that a fox was staring at her from atop her bed.

"Now, what do I have there? Who are you, little one?"

To her astonishment, the fox looked at her with intelligent eyes and spoke.

"I'm Narabi of the fox clan. I was looking for the Boss when I smelled you. You smell like him. Have you seen him recently?"

"Hai. We…mated…not long ago. I don't know where he is at the moment, though. And I…"she faltered, putting a hand on her stomach. "I'm carrying his pup."

"Ooooh, really? Really really? That's great! Wait until I tell the others! They'll be _ecstatic_! Alright, I'll stay with you to protect the pup! And Boss isn't the type to let his mate alone for too long, so he'll come by and I'll be able to tell him that he must return. Great, that's a plan!"

Looking at the jumping fox, Sakura had to smile, but she still had trouble believing that such a tiny creature could protect her. Said fox put his head on her stomach, listening for movements inside her womb.

"Ne, Narabi…"

"Hush, hush! I'm trying to hear the pup!"

"You won't be able to hear the baby for a while, Narabi. Now, not to insult you, but I doubt you could protect me…not that you'd need to, anyway."

"Hah! No problem, look at that!"

The fox jumped on the floor and began to grow, fur and muscles rippling. He soon became as big as a horse and looked at her with his yellow eyes, putting his head on the floor.

"Do you believe me now? That's my real form, the other was just to blend in here," said Narabi in a deeper voice.

"Okay…Well, you'd better assume that other form again."

"Sure. Now, can I stay? Pleeeeease, mistress?"

"Alright, but for now, pretend to be a normal fox. I don't want people to know I have the fox contract yet and I _absolutely_ don't want them to know that I'm mated to the great Kyuubi, understand?"

"Hai!"

That conversation had been two days ago and since then, the Sandaime Hokage had come by to have a long discussion with her, at the term of which he had agreed to let her continue her secret mission, as long as she became a Leaf kunoichi once again. She had agreed, but would not exchange her slashed hitai-ate for a new one, saying that there was history attached to the one she had and hat just put a henge on it for now. She was thus to go on a few solo missions as ANBU.

She had spent the two days looking for an apartment and furniture and training to see her new capacities and limits. After having thoroughly destroyed the training grounds, she had decided to meditate for a while, standing on one foot on the water to practice her chakra control, as her now large reserves had destabilized her. When she felt that she was ready, she took her ninjato from her back and, twirling, began a kata simulating a fight with three opponents to work on her muscles without too much stress.

Approaching the training grounds, Obito chattered happily to Rin and Kakashi about the kunoichi he'd seen fighting at the hospital, Minato trailing behind them with an indulgent smile.

"I tell you, guys, she was simply a-_maz_-ing! She was like, whoosh, whoosh, bam!" he said, imitating her moves. "And she was really beautiful! You know, the kind of beauty you wouldn't forget. Even you would have to agree, ice prick, and you're asexual!"

"Obito-kun," admonished Rin, "it's not nice to insult your team members. I'm sure Kakashi-kun is hurt."

"Bah, nothing can touch him anyway, he's the "perfect shinobi" and all that shit. Anyway, she was so cool! She had those crazy tattoos, too. I wonder if mom would let me get one if I told her that she had one. Oh, wow…" he whistled. "Someone was angry all right here. I wonder how many bodies we'll find. Think they have all killed one another?"

They stopped short, looking at the devastated grounds. There were craters and fissures everywhere, upturned trees and gigantic boulders smashed to pieces. Among all that destruction was a single figure standing on top of a flowing river who was practicing her swordsmanship.

"Ah. I thought she'd be here," said Minato, satisfied.

His students turned to him.

"Sensei, is that?" began Obito.

"Hai, it's her."

Obito whooped in joy. At the sound, the figure's head turned to them and, stopping her movements, sheathed her ninjato. With slow, measured steps radiating confidence and poise, she approached them. Obito was sad to see that her face was obscured by bandages, but he made no comment. Stopping before them, she assessed them with a glance and turned to Minato.

"Did you wish to use the training grounds, Namikaze-sensei? I'm sorry. Had I known, I would not have vented my energy in so destructive a manner. If you still want to use them, I shall leave them to you."

Minato shook his head.

"Iie, that's no problem. Although, I have two things to ask of you."

"If it is within my powers to help you, I will. What is it?" she inquired calmly.

"The first would be that you call me Minato-san. Namikaze-sensei makes me feel old."

"Alright, that can be done," said Sakura with mirth dancing in her normally cold eyes.

"The second would be that you evaluate Kakashi-kun. He's just been promoted to jounin and I'd like your unbiased opinion on his skills."

"Then I have a question of my own. Why me?"

"Because you've been away for a long time, so you won't be biased toward him and because as an ANBU captain and as young as you are, you must have seen many promising ninja and lead some. I want you to see if he's got the leadership necessary to be the captain of this team."

Kakashi and Sakura looked at each other and Sakura had to refrain from hugging him or kicking his ass, whichever suited her best. The Kakashi she knew was a great leader, but she couldn't be so sure of this one. After all, he had told her that he had changed much after his team mates' deaths. She knew that he was good, that much was clear from his reputation of being a genius, but she had no idea if he could properly lead a team yet. Maybe he didn't have the maturity to do so, for he was, for all matters and purposes, still a kid.

Kakashi was examining her carefully. He could admit that being an ANBU captain was impressive, even more at her age and, if his sensei was right, even younger than that, and kunoichi were not known for applying for ANBU, which gave her credit, but the way she looked at him unnerved him. It unsettled him to see her look at him with something akin to familiarity in her eyes, as though she knew him and knew his thoughts. That was ludicrous at best, but it still didn't settle well with him. He took his time gauging her, trying to see her strengths and weaknesses, but she offered him none. She seemed to have created a wall between herself and the world to make them see only what she wanted people to see, a bit like him. The thought irked him. If she could read him, that meant others could, too, and that was a bad thing, for it made him predictable. Predictability was a bane for ninja, because it could kill them. Furthermore, that woman was going to decide his future. If she felt that he was ready, he would become the captain of his team, but if she didn't, Minato-sensei would have to find a jounin to lead the team during his absences, and in this time of war, Konoha had few, if any, ninja to spare. As the perfect ninja he strived to be, he had to show her he was apt for the job.

"I suppose you want us to do this now, Minato-san?" asked Sakura.

"If your chakra reserves aren't too depleted. I admit that I hadn't thought I would see such destruction, especially seeing as how two days ago, you were still in a hospital bed."

"It's no problem. I have large chakra reserves and I wanted to blow off some steam. It would be an honour to evaluate your student. Shall we get going, Kakashi-san?"

Kakashi merely nodded and followed Sakura to the center of the grounds while his team stayed on the border to watch. He noticed that Sakura seemed very relaxed, even as he took a battle stance. It was annoying to see how lazy she seemed, whereas he was tense, as this was very important to him. Then, she did something that both astonished and angered him. She took a book from an inside pocket of her coat.

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R&R, everyone, if you want the battle!


	9. A KickAss Assessment

This is for all of you nice reviewers! You'll notice that this chapter is longer than the previous one. If I had known all I had to do to get reviews flowing was a two-weeks absence and a promise for a new chapter soon, I would have done it sooner! Haha, just joking. Anyway, enjoy. I hope this satisfies everybody, even the one who didn't want a fight. You know who you are and I'll say this: you can just read the last paragraphs if you want to get an idea without having to read the fight. To be frank, I think I suck at writing fights anyway. Oh well, you'll all have to get over it, since there WILL be more fights in this story. What did you expect? They're ninja!

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Just to rile him up, Sakura had decided to whip out the first Icha Icha book, its bright orange cover glaring at him while she read it, seemingly not paying him any attention. She could almost feel him simmering as she continued to read tranquilly.

"Stop reading that horror, it's insulting," gritted out the silver-haired shinobi.

"Why should I? I think it's safe to say that I won't need to keep my eyes off this masterpiece to beat you, ne? Anyway, if you manage to make me take my eyes off of this great book and get serious, I'll give you a gift, okay?"

Kakashi merely grunted and dashed in her direction, a kunai in each hand. He swiped at her numerous times, but she always evaded his blows, never taking her eyes off of her book, which only served to anger him more.

At one point, she did a flip over his head, landing behind him and, before he had time to turn around, put her arms around his shoulders to open the book in front of his face. He felt a nosebleed coming at the suggestive images and backed off right into her breasts. Seeing as how he wasn't very tall, his head was cushioned between her breasts and he felt his face redden.

"Now, now, you wouldn't be blushing, would you? You say you're a man, but men wouldn't blush. They would be groping my boobs by now or rubbing their face in them. Look, this is how you do it."

She turned him around, book now all but forgotten, and pushed his head between her soft breasts with one hand while she pulled his other hand and put it on her breast, forcing him to squeeze her soft mound.

At the edge of the grounds, the other ninja looked at the scene with slack jaws.

"Kami, I had no idea she could rile him up like that," murmured Rin. "With her, he actually looks like the kid he is!"

"Man, I'd love to be in his place right now," said Obito dreamily. "That body of hers must be amazing!"

Minato, for his part, was pensive.

"What do you think, sensei?" asked Rin.

"Well, kunoichi are taught to use their bodies as weapons in seduction missions and seeing as how those are mandatory in ANBU, it doesn't surprise me that she's at ease using hers like that, but at the hospital, when she was unconscious, her body would tense automatically when a male got near, with the exception of Jiraiya-sama and, to a lesser extent, me, so it does astonish me a little bit. Hm…Well, that could be just resolve. It's rather interesting to see that she's peeling away the layers around him one by one to see who he really is inside. With one glance, she had assessed him and used her deductions to force him to reveal himself. I wonder what she's going to do now."

Sakura bent down to murmur in his ear.

"Now, this is the part where you plunge a kunai in my gut, Kakashi-kun."

She felt him tense and evaded the blow just before it could connect, laughing.

"Stop playing with me and fight!" yelled Kakashi.

"Maa, maa, don't say that you didn't like it, that would be lying. If ever you want to learn about women, you know where to find me."

A few hand signs later, a water dragon jumped on him, Sakura riding on its head. She dispersed the dragon when she saw him begin a lightning jutsu. He then switched to a wind-based jutsu that propelled her in the air and cut her in diverse parts of her body. During that time, she launched a rain of razor-sharp sakura blossoms. Kakashi managed to evade some of them, but still got cut a few times. When she landed, he was waiting for her with his white chakra blade and she had to grip it in her left hand to stop it from catching her in the shoulder. Blood dripped to the ground. With her free hand, she closed two of his tenketsu points, forcing him to drop his blade. Faster than his eyes could perceive, she performed the 54 hand signs necessary to perform a specific genjutsu that would be able to tell her if he was ready to be his team's leader.

Kakashi suddenly saw his team mates run to him, yelling at him to get down. He didn't and consequently got a blow to the ribs, feeling them crack.

"Stop distracting me!" he yelled at them. "You're in the way!"

"Look," said Obito, "if I attack her and distract her, then Rin will be able to heal you and we could attack her together."

"Butt out, Obito, that's my battle, not yours," grounded Kakashi.

"Alright, man, cool down," shrugged the Uchiha.

Kakashi ignored him and formed a lightning jutsu. Sakura escaped it easily.

"Give up! If you don't, next time, I'll use one of your team mates as a shield!" yelled Sakura.

However, Kakashi was hell-bent on winning. If she used Rin or Obito as a shield, they would still conduct electricity. He just had to use enough chakra so that it knocked her out and hope it didn't cause too much damage to his team members if she did use one of them as a shield. He thus sent another lightning jutsu straight at her and, as predicted, she used Rin as a shield. Unfortunately, she just exchanged place with the younger kunoichi, so while the jutsu knocked Rin out, it didn't do her any damage. He ran at her and threw shuriken in her direction, but she suddenly disappeared, along with Rin and Obito.

Sakura released her genjutsu, having seen enough. However, her chakra suppressor chose that moment to strangle her and reopen one of her old wound situated on her back, dangerously close to her spine. Immediately, her hands went to her neck. Kakashi chose that moment to attack, seeing her wide open. His kick sent her tumbling to the ground, where she felt her head crack on a boulder as the same time as her back erupted in pain. Through her hazy vision, she saw him approach her and squat down in front of her, putting a kunai against her neck.

"I win."

"Actually, you lose," she whispered.

From under him, a hand came up and brought him in the ground until only his head was seen. Her clone then dispelled itself, leaving them face-to-face, her sprawled back to a boulder and him fulminating, imprisoned in the earth.

The silver-haired shinobi's team mates ran to them. While Rin helped Kakashi to free himself, Minato ignored Obito, who was laughing at Kakashi for getting caught in such an easy trap, opting to focus on Sakura, who still hadn't gotten up.

"Are you alright, Sakura-san?" he asked, giving her a hand to hoist her to her feet.

"Hai, I just hadn't expected that damn chakra suppressor to activate at such an inopportune time, though I suppose I should have seen it coming," she answered, taking his hand.

"So, what did you think of Kakashi-kun?"

"Well, he's skilled, I'll give you that, but he's not ready yet to become a taichou. I tested him in my genjutsu. His pride stopped him from accepting help from his team mates and he would willingly injure one to achieve his goal. I admit that injuring one could be done on a mission, if a plan like that had been agreed upon, but a taichou should step down and put his team's interests before his own. He only wanted to bring me down, no matter what the cost. My opinion is: he's not ready. However, in this time of war, it may be necessary for him to be his team's taichou. He just has to work on those points and he would become a great taichou, I believe. Anyway, could you heal my head, please? There are still spots dancing in my vision."

"Sure. Kakashi-kun, how do you take her observations? You think you could work with them and listen to her advice?" asked Minato, even as he put a glowing hand to Sakura's head.

"I don't need advice from a ninja who can't even heal herself,' he spat before taking off.

"Kakashi-kun!" yelled Rin.

"Iie, let him be. He is, after all, just a kid. He'll come around. Beside, he's right, I can't heal myself and that's pretty pathetic for a medic-nin, don't you think?"

Even though they couldn't see it, under her bandages, her smile was fake.

"Alright, I guess that's it for today. You're free to go, guys!" said Minato cheerily.

With a whoop, Obito dragged Rin away by the hand, talking about food along the way. As soon as they were out of sight, Minato turned to Sakura sternly.

"You can stop pretending now, you know, I'm not duped."

Immediately, the kunoichi's legs buckled under her and she would have fallen if he had not caught her.

"Whoa! Easy there," he said as he slowly sat her on a boulder and whistled. "Geez, woman, how did you manage to stay upright?"

"I just used chakra to support my weight. Kami, that hurts like a bitch!' she hissed as he helped her get out of her trench coat. Her chest wrappings had become soaked with blood on her back and she was beginning to shiver despite the rather warm winter. The gash was deep and long and, Minato thought, way too close to her spine for his liking.

"Sorry, I think you'll have to go to the hospital, I'm not comfortable healing something so close to your spine. And I'd like you to tell me how you got that, because I'm positive it's not something Kakashi did."

"Alright," she relented as he helped her get dressed. "The chakra suppressor keeps me from using my healing chakra on myself and it sometimes opens old wounds and strangles me. There's no way to know when it'll do that, which pisses me off, but I don't have a choice in the matter."

"That's quite a restriction you got there," said Minato as he took her bridal style in his arms and ran to the hospital. "Can't you get rid of it?"

She levelled a look at him.

"Okay, stupid question. Who is it cued to? If we can find that man…"

"It's no use, he's supposed to be dead now. My companion took him out before knowing he had put that atrocity on me."

"A mission gone wrong?" asked the blond.

"Yeah, badly. I got caught while staying behind to make sure my team mates could escape. I didn't have much chakra left, as I had used almost all of it to heal them as much as I could. They were still too injured to fight, so as the most valid one and their taichou, I kept the enemies from reaching them. They returned safely, but I was taken as a hostage. My companions apparently made their report and I had forbidden them from striking a deal with my kidnappers at any cost, so those bastards kept me locked up in an underground cell for seven months during which they drugged, tortured, raped and interrogated me. Let me tell you, withdrawal is a bitch. Anyway, I refused to speak, so they put that suppressor on me to stop me from healing myself and remind me that I was at their mercy. They gave me a drug that kept me from using my normal chakra efficiently too. The worst was that they took turns raping me, often gang-banging me, reminding me that that was what I had chosen. They had a medic-nin with them. You know that those can be the best interrogators, because they know exactly where to hurt you to make sure that you suffer the most. He made sure that I stayed alive. He did more than that, though. You men like virgins because they're tight, ne? Well, every time I was raped, he healed me, so my hymen would be reconstructed at his hands every time and be intact for those pigs to break upon entering me. During those months, I've been deflowered 654 times. Nice number, ne? I've kept count to see how much I could make them suffer once I got free because it was only a matter of time before I did, you see. And once I did…oh, I made them pay," she muttered darkly. "I made them pay for all they did, and more. I was injured and feeble, but fury fuelled me and they ran before me, shaking like leaves. My team mates had come to save me, having finally found the secret base, but among those they had killed was the bastard who'd put this chakra suppressor on me. That's about it."

Minato gulped, thinking about what she had been through.

"That's…a lot. I'm surprised you haven't broken down."

She swatted the comment aside. "Not like I ever had a chance. Once I came back, I had to be strong for my team and less than a year after that, I left on my mission that didn't officially exist."

She chuckled humourlessly.

"My sensei used to go on S-ranked missions because it was known that he would not speak under torture if was caught. After that, the same was said about me and people congratulated him for teaching me to be strong. What they didn't know was that he had nightmares about _my_ imprisonment during those seven months and after. He almost didn't believe I was alive when he found me with the rescue team. He hadn't thought I was that strong. Let's just say that afterward, we got close because we had shared similar experiences and I often got up during the night because he'd had a nightmare and I had to go to his apartment to calm him down. And before you ask, we were neighbours, so, yes, I heard him through the walls. Ever since my imprisonment, I've had a pretty sensitive hearing. Oh, look, we're there."

Minato crossed the hall of the hospital and stopped before the receptionist.

"I believe this is yours," he said as Sakura swatted him across the head.

"What he means is: I need a blood transfusion and one of your best medic-nin to suture a wound that currently bites in my spine. That's why I can't walk. You understand that if I could use my legs, I would have kicked that idiot already."

The astounded receptionist could only nod.

"You know, that would mean now."

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So, how about this one? It's longer to compensate for the last short chappie. More words means more reviews, right? _Right?!_ Anyway, that's only wishful thinking on my part, I suppose (sniff).


	10. Playing a Player

Sorry for the delay. Life happened. Okay, this chapter is for all Jiraiya-lovers out there! JIRAIYA ROCKS! If I receive at least five reviews, I'll post the next chapter before Wednesday!

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While Sakura was being tortured–erm, healed– by an impressionable medic-nin and guiding him in the healing of the deep gash on her back, Obito and Rin had stopped at a dango shop and were talking about the match between Sakura and Kakashi when they saw their sensei walking by, his face set in a serious expression.

"Hey, sensei!" yelled Obito, "Come and eat with us!"

At the sound of his student's voice, Minato stopped and looked around. When he spotted them, his demeanour changed and it was with a sunny complexion that he sat next to his team mates.

"So, what were you two talking about?" he asked after getting a couple of dango from the plate.

"Just saying that the match was awesome. Well, that and Rin was worried about the ice prick."

"Now, now, Obito-kun, be nice. He is still your team mate," reprimanded Minato. "I know he can be cold at times, but he cares about you, deep down, I'm sure."

"Yeah, at the same level as dog crap," he muttered bitterly. "I don't know what you see in him, Rin-chan. Why don't you go out with me instead?"

"Obito-kun, you know I don't like you that way."

"Aww, c'mon, he doesn't even have a sense of humour!" whined the Uchiha.

"Please, Obito-kun, just let it drop. He is as good a person as you are. He simply has a strict code of honour. Anyway, sensei, who was that woman? I don't remember seeing her before."

"That's normal, she was gone for years on a secret mission. She's just been back for a week or so, most of that time she has spent in the hospital. And even if you had seen her, you may not have recognized her, because ANBU always wear masks, remember?"

Minato took a bite and waited for his students to process what he had said.

"Yeah, why was she in the hospital, anyway?" pondered Obito, snatching a dango from the plate.

"Well, she was under the influence of a genjutsu. To be frank, I don't know how she got out of it by herself."

"Ne, sensei, did you know her from before?" asked the boy eagerly.

"Iie, I met her for the first time at the hospital. So, did you like her?"

"Yeah! She was great! You know, all-powerful and all!" he exclaimed happily.

"And you, Rin? What did you think?" asked Minato as he turned toward the only female member of his team.

"Well… yes, she was good, but…her eyes seemed so cold and sad… Do you know why, sensei?"

"I may have an idea about that…" he began thoughtfully.

After hesitating a bit, he told them some of what she had revealed to him, leaving out the gory details. Rin and Obito listened to his tale raptly, eyes wide and mouths agape.

"That's so sad…" whispered Rin, sniffling gently and wiping her wet eyes.

"That's so courageous," breathed Obito.

Minato chuckled briefly at them.

"Well, I'm glad you like her, because I was thinking of asking her to replace me when I'm not available to teach you."

"Really? Sugoi!"

It just so happened that Sakura, who had finally gotten free of the clutches of the medic-nin, was walking down the street when she heard a crash and a yell, soon followed by a running Jiraiya who appeared to be running from a murderous-looking woman clad only in a towel. The Toad Sannin hid behind a door while the woman looked around, clearly trying to find him to emasculate him later on. Shaking her head, Sakura continued her walk, hiding her face behind her erotic book. The woman looked at her, disgusted, before stalking back to her house, having figured out that she would not catch the Sannin that time. As soon as she was gone, Sakura stopped, still not turning around.

"She's gone now, you big pervert. You can get out of your hiding place."

Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, Jiraiya joined her as she put her Icha Icha book in an inner pocket.

"Hahaha, Sakura…" he said, a bit embarrassed, "what are you doing here?"

"I _was_ walking peacefully before I saw you, you peeping tom. What'd you do this time? Spy on her bathing? Never mind," she added as he opened his mouth, "I don't want to know. My mind is already corrupted enough without you adding to it."

"Now, now, Sakura-san, don't be like that. Come on, what do you say I treat you to a cup of sake? I could even say yes to a plate of dango."

"Wow, you sure are desperate to get away from here, aren't you?" she chuckled with mirth.

"Would I be me if I missed a chance to be in the company of such a beautiful woman?" he asked rhetorically, puffing his chest out.

"Now, that was pure flattery. Alright, let's grab a bite and get something to warm our throats. Lead the way, charmer, it's been a long time since I've been in town."

"Of course, milady."

Gallantly, he offered her his arm, which she took with a heartfelt laugh, and they began their trek to Konoha's busier streets.

Spotting a little dango shop that seemed cosy enough for their taste, they sat at a table and ordered a plate of dango for both of them and a bottle of sake. To any onlookers, they looked like old friends reuniting after years of separation, and their identically white hair made more than one wonder if they, perchance, weren't related.

"So?" asked Jiraiya. "Have you had time to adjust?"

Sakura grabbed a dango and eyed it for a moment before pondering if she should use a Kakashi-eating technique or not before deciding to be lazy and unravelling the bandages around her face to bite her food hungrily.

"Hai. I've got brand new furniture now in my new apartment. It could be worse, I suppose. I didn't buy any food, 'cause Sandaime-sama is sending me on a mission tomorrow," she said calmly, playing with a senbon she had just put in her mouth.

Jiraiya's eyebrows touched his hairline.

"What, already? Isn't that a bit soon?"

The white-haired kunoichi shrugged and took another dango.

"Well, we _are_ at war. Everyone is needed and because I'm ANBU, he can send me with less remorse on dangerous missions."

"Still, you are supposed to be in convalescence and you came back from that mission not long ago."

"Bah, I can take care of myself and if I get caught, which hopefully won't happen, Hokage-sama knows I won't break under torture and spill Konoha's secrets, so I guess I'll have to go with the flow of things," answered the young woman while tapping her lip thoughtfully.

"Speaking of that," said the older man while taking of sip of his sake and clucking his tongue, "how ever did you manage to break that genjutsu? Even Yamanaka Akira-san could not do it, and that's saying something."

Sakura's eyes glazed over as, lost in thought, she gazed at the sunny street.

"When I was young, I had schizophrenia, and I created a strong double personality to defend me, because I was weak. A girl once tried to possess me and was flung out of my body by that inner persona. As I grew up and became strong, that personality receded until it vanished, as I didn't need it anymore. You could say that we fused together to become the me you see now. Anyway," she continued, waving her hand as though to push that aside, "in that hellhole, I simply had to recreate that inner personality of mine, but the problem was that 1) I had to create one for each copy of me there was in the genjutsu, which was quite a bitch, let me tell you that, and 2) I had to do it while being tortured, which means that I had to manage to stay focused on that task. Wasn't easy, but in the end, it was worth it, ne?" she said with a sunny smile. "Of course, now, she's receded again, but because I've recreated her once, it will be easier to do it again if I have to."

Jiraiya whistled, eyeing the white-haired woman with new-found respect.

"Impressive."

"Yeah, and my punch will be impressive too if you don't stop looking at my boobs. I may use my body during seduction missions, but during my breaks, I'm like any normal woman, so don't push your luck," she replied calmly with a steely edge.

The Toad Sannin sheepishly took his eyes off of her cleavage, realizing that he had been caught. She tsked disapprovingly at him and decided to play with him a bit. Putting a sultry smile on her face, she leaned over the table, exposing more of her cleavage, and whispered in his ear, nibbling it gently.

"Ne, Jiraiya-sama, would you like to have more than just your eyes on my breasts? I suppose you're still…dashing in bed. Ne?"

The older ninja shivered at feeling her warm breath on his neck, making his body react in a way that he could not control. He had to refrain from groaning when she once again assumed her place on the other side of the table, her eyes dancing with mirth.

"That was cruel, you know," he whined. "It's nasty to do this to a male, you vixen."

"Ah, that was kind of the point, you know. I had warned you. And don't say that you didn't enjoy it. That may have been torture for you, but it was a _sweet_ torture."

He could only shake his head as, with a shark grin, she plopped a dango in her mouth.

On the other side of the street, three ninja were looking at the pair of ninja, who were currently on their way to getting drunk, curiously and with something akin to strike-dumb surprise.

"She got him good on that one," murmured Minato pensively. "I must admit that it was a nice one. Never thought I would see it one day, though. He looks a bit upset, but that can only be good for him."

Rin and Obito didn't know what to say. The scene had astonished them, but they had to admit that it was fun to have a good laugh at the perverted Sannin. They only wished Kakashi could have been with them.

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Just a bit of fun for now, 'cause drama is coming later on. Okay, no Kakashi here, but we'll see him soon, guys!

sugoi: amazing


	11. The Past Shouldn't Haunt Dreams

The moon was shining in the sky when Sakura and Jiraiya made it to her apartment, the latter thoroughly plastered. Once they came to a stop in front of her door, she shook him to awaken him a bit and pushed him inside her home. Closing the door with her foot, she chuckled as she heard Jiraiya mumbling how nice it was to come in a woman's home invited, for once. Having had a drunk as a shishou had upped her tolerance to alcohol long ago, so she was not even tipsy while Jiraiya would have tumbled to the floor without her help. Unfortunately, a couch had not been part of her priorities to buy, so she only had a bed to put him in. _Her_ bed, to be exact. She did not bother to listen to his drunken speech as she unclothed him, leaving him only in his pants, so that he would not have to wander around in crinkled clothes tomorrow. As soon as the man's head touched the pillow, he promptly fell asleep, a smile on his face. Sakura put a glowing hand on her torso and proceeded to cleanse his system of the alcohol he had taken that day. While it would not disrupt his sleep, he would thank her tomorrow when he didn't have a splitting headache due to the hangover. Feeling tired herself, she stripped down to her underwear and plopped down on the bed. Sleeping next to each other sure brought back memories, she thought as his slow and steady breathing lulled her to sleep.

_She was in a sunny town, waiting for Deidara at a bar, having been ordered to meet him there to heal the injuries he had gotten on his latest mission. Part of the deal she had made with the association was that she would heal their members, but not fight alongside them unless she had no choice, for while she could heal others, she could not heal herself and they needed an apt medic. She was the strongest and most knowledgeable one around, so they had had no choice but to comply, knowing that her argument was wise. Thus, whenever a member was hurt, she would wait for him at a designated place. That was why she was sitting on a stool and doing her best to stay inconspicuous. It was also the reason she had taken to hide her face whenever in public. That way, her face could not be recognized and she would not attract hunter-nin. At long last, the blond showed up, having had enough sense to use a henge to hide his injuries. She brought him to a back alley and scanned him, after which she healed him, hushing him when he hissed in pain and berating him._

"_You know, Sakura-san, you're like a mother hen, un," he joked._

_She slapped him over the head and, satisfied with her work, told him that she was going to let him go back by himself, having already a mission to finish in town._

"_Oh, yeah, one of those lucrative missions you do with Kakuzu to maintain our finances on the safe side, un?"_

_She just nodded and, with a wave of her hand, returned to her spot at the bar, where she later on saw a white-haired Sannin. She went to the bathroom. The one who got out of the stall was a purple-haired woman dressed provocatively who then proceeded to seduce the strong shinobi. Once back in her room, she gave him her report and they slept next to each other, her burying her head in his shoulder while he murmured words of encouragement, knowing they could not leave the room before dawn in order not to draw suspicion to themselves._

_The scene changed and she was suddenly thrown back months before._

_Those little bastards had been distracted by something, that much she knew. They had thought she was weaker than she really was, so they had not put as much of the chakra-suppressing drug as usual in her food, which she had not eaten anyway, pretending to be too feeble to lift a finger. They had worked quite a number on her the previous day, seeming desperate. However, they had expected to continue today, as they had repaired her hymen and begun healing some of the nastiest gashes and broken bones she had, so that they could inflict even more pain upon her later on. She had pounced on her opportunity when the medic-nin turned his back on her to take an antiseptic from his case. She broke her chains, using her superhuman strength, and, before he could see what had happened, she put a scalpel to his throat, whispering in a deadly manner in his ear._

"_See you in hell, you pathetic excuse for a medic-nin."_

_Her scalpel had found his artery and she had been drenched in his warm blood, seeing the light of life vanish from his eyes with relish. She then had donned the tattered inner layer of a kimono that lay in the corner, loosely tying it around her waist. She noted that it fell to her shoulders instead of folding on her neck, sign that she had lost weight. They would pay for that too. The door was opened with the shinobi's key and she left, for the first time in seven months, her damp and cold cell. The corridor was made in stone and no light shined from any window. Her step echoed loudly in the underground base, mostly due to the chains still attached to her hands and feet. The few people she encountered were massacred without mercy, the first one with bare hands and the others with the katana she had taken from her first victim's corpse. On one of them, she found exploding tags that she sealed at diverse places in the base while looking for the man who had put the chakra suppressor on her neck. Finally, she found a man that, after peeing in his pants, motioned with flailing hands that the one she was looking for was probably at the entrance of the compound. Her fierce eyes turned in that direction and she went out of the building and onto the inner courtyard, dragging the terrified man with her. Eventually, tired of his attempts to escape her clutches, she sliced his throat without putting him down. She was conscious that she was fuelled only by adrenaline, rage and her strong determination and that she would soon collapse, her months of imprisonment catching up to her, but she was determined to bring down those bastards first. Behind her, the building exploded, flames erupting everywhere, but she remained unfazed, continuing to walk to the entrance of the compound, katana in one hand and bloody body in the other. Her hair fluttered in the wind created by the explosion. She did not know it, but people would later on tell her that at that moment, she had looked like a vengeful apparition. It was on that day that she gained a new nickname: the Deadly Blossom, although some also called her the Bloody Blossom. Her description as such would be added to the Bingo Books of the diverse countries and her status promoted to S-rank._

_Suddenly, four figures appeared in front of her and stopped short at her sight. She easily recognized the ANBU she had thought she would never see again. One of them, a lanky one with gravity-defying silver hair, stepped forward and spoke a few words. As her grip went slack on the katana and the body, she whispered four words that froze their blood in their veins._

"_I can't hear…anything..."_

_Kakashi had caught her in his strong arms as she lost consciousness. She would be told later that he had refused to put her down, except to sleep and to wash her in a river, stopping the other members of the rescuing team from seeing her naked, even though they were her own team mates. She would not wake up for days due to exhaustion, only to find, when she did wake up, her team mates around her who looked like they had not slept in weeks. She had admonished them, causing them to laugh happily, saying they were glad to "finally have their Taichou back", which had made her eyes wet. After those seven moths of hell, her hair never returned to its normal coral color, its whiteness a statement to everything that she had endured. Tsunade had then forced her to use a henge to hide its color and her scars so that her friends, who did not know that she had been made ANBU, would not guess that something had changed, all of them having only been told that she had gone on a long mission. Still, every now and then, she could feel dirty hands on her and had nightmares of those hellish months. However, among the ANBU, those who had thought she was too young to be part of their elite group and not suited to be a Taichou had finally come around and now respected her. Whenever she went to a bar with her team, modifying her facial traits, she felt as though she had bodyguards, or extremely protective brothers, as various ANBU members often strolled up to her to offer her a drink and flirt with her. Unconsciously, her body would tense and she would politely refuse, feeling only at ease with those close to her, such as Kakashi and her team._

Sakura woke up slowly, feeling a hand grope her left breast.

_What the?!_

Spooning with her, which must have happened sometime during the night, Jiraiya was sleeping like a log. She extricated her members from his and disappeared in the bathroom to take a shower and freshen up. Narabi looked up from his spot at the end of the bed and followed her, sitting on the closed lid of the toilet.

"You know, you shivered during the night. Nightmares?"

Stepping in the shower, she nodded silently.

"He woke up, you know. When you were shivering and mumbling in your sleep, I mean," said the fox while nodding toward the still sleeping man on the other side of the door. "He's a good man."

"I know."

When Jiraiya woke up, he noted happily that his head wasn't splitting in two and that nothing seemed to have died in his mouth.

_Note to self: if you get drunk, get drunk with a beautiful medic-nin who'll cleanse your system of all the alcohol afterward. Especially if it's at her place and she lets you sleep next to her._

Swinging his legs on the side of the bed, he heard Sakura moving in the kitchen.

"Wow, breakfast, too? Nice!" he exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Sit down, sleepyhead, I was just about to wake you up. Your timing is great."

After eating together in a friendly atmosphere, they walked together to the village gates.

"Will you still be here when I return?" asked Sakura.

"Maybe. I was thinking of staying for awhile and helping out with the war," answered Jiraiya nonchalantly.

"Well, you can stay at my place if you haven't got one, but if you do, I expect it to be clean when I come back."

"Aye aye, miss!"

She chuckled and swatted his arm playfully.

"Anyway, I've got to go."

"Wait, when will you be back?"

"I don't know, a week, maybe two? It could be more."

"Put a henge on your hitai-ate, alright? Wouldn't want you to be shot down by one of our own."

"Don't worry, I'm resistant."

"Be safe."

"Don't die."

They both smiled, though Sakura's grin was hidden beneath bandages. Narabi jumped on Sakura's shoulder, signalling that it was time to go and she left without turning back, running as fast as she could.

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Okay, now you know more of Sakura's past and why she acts the way she does. And if you want to see more of Jiraiya or not, you have to vote or to tell me so in a review. I hope it satisfies everyone and beg your foriveness for the lateness. I guarantee you that there WILL be a chapter posted this friday or this weekend as well, depending on my availability and your reviews. So review!

One last thing. Some of you seem to be wondering if Sakura will be paired with Kakashi because I posted a poll. The answer is: OF COURSE! The poll is just to see who else I will add. On that note, please answer this question: do you want Jiraiya to be paired with Sakura too or just be a close friend? **THIS IS IMPORTANT!**


	12. The Bloody Gift

This chapter is what actually got me to write this fic and is one of my favourite ones, so enjoy it, ne? It's even longer than the previous ones, too, to make up for the wait.

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The mission had taken longer than she had thought it would. What could have gone badly _had_ gone badly and she now cursed Murphy's Law. Going behind enemy lines was not an easy feat, but she had done it and undermined as much of their installations as she could, poisoning their food whenever possible. Unfortunately, just as she was about to make her escape, some enemy ANBU had spotted her and hunted her down. It had taken her time and energy, and at the end of the ordeal, she was a little worse for the wear, sporting a few injuries, but she had managed to shake them off her trail, killing two of them in the process.

Now, she was running back to Konoha, jumping from gigantic tree to gigantic tree in a forest where everything seemed out of proportion. She suddenly stilled, sensing blood not far away and remembering that the Hokage had said that he would send at least another team in this part of the country. Sighing and hoping that she would not find a massacre, she swerved off and sped toward the scent of blood.

She arrived at the clearing just in time to see three very recognizable ninja get buried under a wall of earth.

_Oh, kuso._

Without thinking, she flung herself in a small fissure that led in the interior of the cave that had been formed, going so fast that the enemy ninja didn't have time to stop her. She landed softly next to the teens who tensed as she appeared before breathing a sigh of relief. She stared sadly at Obito, whose body had been crushed under a huge boulder and at Rin who, at her appearance, sobbed in relief. Lastly, her gaze landed on Kakashi, who was looking at Obito with emotions, for once. The Uchiha was trying to get Rin to transplant his eye in Kakashi's orbit, but Kakashi was adamantly saying that he would not let him die.

Without any hesitation whatsoever, Sakura put a stasis jutsu on Obito and turned sternly to Kakashi.

"You need to buy me five minutes so that I can prepare him to get you out of here. I won't have him die here like this."

"But Sakura-san, nothing could save him!" sobbed Rin. "I'm not experienced enough to save him and even if I was, we'd need more time!"

"Don't worry about that. Come here, Hatake, you won't be able to fight well with only one eye, so I'm going to give you now the gift I had promised you."

It took her less than ten minutes to transplant her left eye in Kakashi's orbit. Not wanting to waste any chakra on her own and knowing the consequences should she choose to use her medical chakra on herself, she merely pulled her hitai-ate over the now empty and bleeding orbit, the blood running down her cheek like crimson tears. She sent the teen on his way out and, after swinging the boulder out of the way, ignoring the incredulous looks she got, proceeded to use one of her most dangerous jutsu, the same one that had sent her in this era in the first place. Her hands quickly moved through the necessary hand signs and she finally murmured the name of her technique.

"Time-slowing jutsu."

Immediately, she felt as though everything apart from her was going much slower. She immediately set out to work on repairing Obito's body. If she had had time to think about it, she would have said that it was her masterpiece, as it took her five hours to repair all of his broken bone and damaged organs and to make it so that it appeared as though he had never been hurt in the first place. As soon as she finished, she released the jutsu, panting hard. Slowing down the course of time was hard enough during any short period of time; it was excruciating to do it for so long. While for her, five hours had passed, to Rin, she had appeared to be insanely fast, as only five minutes had gone by.

"How…how did you do that?" asked the young girl.

"Later," growled Sakura. "Narabi, take your true form. On your way out, Rin, bring Kakashi with you. Narabi, you are to go to Minato-san. Tell him to tell _otou-san_ that no matter what, he'll get grandchildren," she ordered as she put a sleeping Obito on the back of the now massive fox, letting him be secured in Rin's arms.

"Hai, mistress," nodded the loyal animal.

"Good. I'll deal with those men outside."

Kakashi was surprised that with Sakura's eye, he could now see everything much more clearly than before and anticipate his enemies' moves as though he could read their mind. As Sakura had promised, though, five minutes after he'd gone off to battle the enemy ninja, she burst out of the cave, followed by a giant fox, and landed next to him. On the brink of unconsciousness as he was, tired from the fight, the emotions and the transplant, he did not object when she put him on the back of the fox that then sped off out of the clearing. Some ninja looked like they wanted to follow them, but Sakura put a barrier around the premises, trapping the 200 ninja that had come and her inside an invisible, impenetrable dome.

"Oh no, boys," she growled, "your fight is with me, not with those poor children. I'll show you what a real adversary is like."

And with that, she charged.

Even though she was tired, Sakura found that rage was very good at fuelling her body. Dodging weapons left and right, creating craters each time her fists impacted with anything, she fought like a fury–a cold-blooded, fierce and lethal fury. It did not take her long to get rid of the majority of the ninja, but there was a handful that seemed very good at using their bloodlines and gave her trouble. Still, she fought them tooth and nail, plunging her tanto in so many chests it was now bright red.

She even unwrapped the bandages around her arms and felt the tattoos burn as chakra rippled through them when she uttered: "demonic blood" and watched them writhe in pain as their blood boiled in their veins. She watched impassively as they clawed at their bodies, leaving bright red marks, before succumbing to her jutsu.

As she killed the last one, feeling dangerously low on chakra and dizzy from the blood loss caused by the injuries she'd gained, she put her back to a tree, clinging to its bark only by chakra, observing the mess she had made. Brutally, pain erupted in her chest, just below her sternum. Dazed, she looked down, only to see a blade protruding from her chest and digging deep in the trunk of the tree, pinning her to it like and insect. As she moved one hand to grip it and yank it out of her torso, several kunai embedded themselves deep in her members, tacking them to the tree. Immobile and coughing blood, she saw a man appear in front of her, hanging from a branch by a rope.

"Didn't see that one coming, eh, bitch? You damn fucker, you killed all of my companions, but I'll kill you and avenge them so they can rest in peace, but I want you to suffer for killing them," he spat.

He twisted the blade inside of her, causing her to gurgle as more blood poured in her lungs. From the handle, she saw ice cover the blade then begin encasing her body.

"No use struggling, bitch, you won't get out of that one. You'll suffocate before freezing to death."

Sakura could already see black spots dancing in her vision, the ice having covered her head, but she still did not give up. She felt her muscles tear as she twisted inside her transparent coffin before feeling a ripping that was both satisfying and heart-wrenchingly painful. Through the ice casing, she saw his eyes widen and look at his chest, where she had plunged her right hand. She took it out, bringing his heart with it and watched in satisfaction as he fell to the ground, eyes unseeing. She dropped his heart, her blood-stained arm still extended from her imprisoned body, and let her consciousness fade away.

_Better it be me than you, brats…_

Minato felt that something was wrong with his team, but as soon as he prepared to go to them, fellow ninja yelled that something was coming at them at great speeds. He turned around and soon saw a giant fox approach before stopping in front of him. As it relayed its mistress' message and related the conditions in which it had left her, he felt dread welling up inside his chest. Jiraiya, who had crowded around him with the other ninja, let out an exclamation as he saw Kakashi open his eyes. One of them was _bright green_.

"Minato! We've got to help her before she gets herself killed!"

Try as they might, they did not manage to break the barrier Sakura had erected until it fell down by itself. As soon as it did, they rushed to the clearing and discovered the massacre that had happened.

"She sure did a number on them," whistled Jiraiya, "but where is she? You think she was captured by them or died?"

No one wanted to answer that question.

Minato kicked a shinobi whose eyes were wide open when he felt something plop down on his head and rubbed it to get rid of it, only to find that his fingers were tainted red. He looked up and gasped loudly, getting the attention of the others with his yell.

"Up there! There she is!"

Without wasting any time, he ran up the tree and began to break the ice encasing the kunoichi. Even without it, she was pinned by the blade in her torso and numerous kunai, so she would not have fallen. He carefully pried her from the tree, careful when her body plopped down in his waiting arms, and returned to the ground where his fellow ninja gathered around him and his cargo. Putting her on the ground, he could not help but notice that her lips were blue and that she was utterly limp. Fortunately, Jiraiya had enough sense to put his fingers on her carotid artery to check her pulse.

"She's alive! Get her to a medic-nin, quick!"

"Hang on, Sakura-san, don't die on us like that!"

"Just a bit longer, Sakura-san, just last a bit longer!"

Cries of encouragement fused around them, but the young woman was in too comatose a state for them to register in her mind. She did not feel it either when they got her to an encampment and Minato's team rushed to her side, worry in their voices.

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So, enough action for you? How did I do? Please review to tell me!Kuso: damn/shit


	13. Repercutions and Reflections

I've been told that the dream sequence from two chapters ago was a bit rushed. It was meant to be so, because Sakura was dreaming and seeing everything at a faster pace because she had already lived through it. Does that make any sense? ^^' And I post this now, as promised, see, _see_?

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The medic-nin who had worked on Sakura were all astounded at the work she had done. They were particularly impressed by Obito's recovery. Seeing him, they had trouble believing that he had ever been hurt on the mission. Rin had recounted that Sakura had seemed very adept and had used some kind of time-slowing jutsu in order to gain the time she lacked to save her team mate. In order to maintain his vitals and to heal his damaged organs at the same time, she must have had an extraordinary chakra control and an even better knowledge of human anatomy. It was now a known fact, too, that she had signed the fox contract, though no one knew how she had managed to find it, never mind getting the foxes to accept her as a summoner. Now back in Konoha, Sakura was put in a room, having yet to wake up, and had been frequently visited by Minato's team, as well as Jiraiya and numerous other ninja who wanted to get a glimpse of the woman who had managed nearly impossible feats. Needless to say, the story had run through Konoha and Sakura was now in the Bingo Book as an S-rank kunoichi with order to flee on sight.

Surprisingly, Kakashi had become less taciturn and cold and spent hours on end sitting in the spare chair, observing the unconscious kunoichi, wondering how she managed to be the prime example of the perfect kunoichi while not being as cold as he was. Maybe the solution resided in using his emotions, instead of annihilating them. He would think more on it.

Another thing that had surprised the medics was that they had found that Sakura was pregnant. This had baffled everyone, as no one knew who the father might be. Well, Jiraiya had been suspected because he had slept at her place, but nothing had come out of that, although the Sannin had wondered for a moment if she may have assaulted him during his drunken stupor and had quickly crossed that out, because he could not bear thinking he had slept with such a fine woman without remembering it. When the Hokage had asked why he had not been informed of her condition when she had first been found, the medics had answered that the pregnancy must have only begun, because they had not sensed the foetus's chakra then. Amazingly, even with all of her wounds, none had damaged the fragile foetuses or her womb. Narabi, who was lounging at Sakura's feet when the medics had exclaimed that, had merely snorted: "Of course not. She used a technique to protect her future children, which makes it so that even if she died, the babies would not be hurt. They're in a cocoon protected from time itself. Even if she dies, her body will not desecrate until the babies are born." He had then proceeded to studiously ignore the baffled medics.

Even lying innocently on the covers at the foot of Sakura's bed, he could not fool anyone anymore, as everyone now knew that he was her summon and, more than just being intelligent, could talk. Still, he had not answered any question concerning his mistress, keeping secret the name of her children's father. He had taken to observing those who came in her room, taking delight in the fact that she was not alone. He rather liked Jiraiya, the older man having a nice sense of humour. He knew that the white-haired man held a deep affection for his mistress and wondered if he could not push them together. At the very least, they could be great friends.

But the one who intrigued him the most was the teen staring thoughtfully at Sakura. He had hidden her eye under his hitai-ate, as though to hide it from those who knew what sacrifice Sakura had made for him. Many said that if she'd had her two eyes when fighting, she may not have ended up so badly hurt. No matter that she had given him her eye as a gift, and what a gift it was, even if the young boy did not know it yet.

"Ne, bozu," he began rather gently–for him–"whatever is troubling you, you shouldn't let it take over your life. The mistress wouldn't want it. You know, she opened a door for you, but it's up to you to make the first move. Whether or not you want to take her help is up to you. Be sure that if you choose to, she'll give you her unconditional support, though. Now sleep, I know that you haven't done much except train and watch over my mistress."

Beneath his mask, Kakashi blushed, making Narabi give him a toothy smile. The fox jumped from the bed and wove around the shinobi's legs.

"You know, bozu…if you want to pursue her–I believe you humans say "court"–I won't put myself in your path."

Seeing his lone dark eye widen, Narabi chuckled and perched himself on the young ninja's lap.

"Sleep, bozu."

Foxes are mischievous creatures, liking to change form and play with humans, but Kakashi was not aware that this particular fox was dead serious. In fact, as soon as the boy fell asleep, Narabi put him in bed next to his mistress, making sure that he did not put pressure on any of her bandaged wounds, and tucked him in.

As fate would have it, a nurse entered the room the following morning and, upon finding the teen with his head on Sakura's chest and an arm around her middle while said patient had one arm around him, she erupted in excited squeals of "MOE!" and proceeded to snap pictures of the sleeping pair. Of course, the room was swarming in no time with nurses, which, of course, awakened Kakashi. Jiraiya stumbled upon that scene and immediately spotted the fox in peals of laughter. He cried with false tears running down his cheeks: "Why do theyt have this reaction when it's him while when it's me, I'm punched and screamed at that I'm a pervert?!"

Immediately, all heads turned to him and said in unison: "Because you're one!"

Thus, Jiraiya spent part of his day pouting while Kakashi ran from rabid fans. Through it all, Sakura slept soundly, never giving any sign of stirring up.

Kakashi stood up when the Sandaime opened the door, but the man who had been nicknamed the Professor motioned for him to sit down. The old man did not fail to notice that Kakashi's eye, which had before been trained on Sakura's immobile form, kept straying to her and he smiled indulgently mentally. Could it be possible that…? He shook himself. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself.

"So, Kakashi-kun, how is it going?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"Alright, I guess," answered the teenage boy politely.

"Is that so? Minato-kun tells me you're not taking care of yourself. That's no good. To be functional, you need a minimum of food and sleep."

"I know, Hokage-sama. I'll be more careful."

"Good," said the satisfied old man. "Now, I've got a mission for you. It may take you years to accomplish it and you won't need to refuse other missions to do it. You don't have to accept it, but I would ask you to consider it, as I believe that you are the only one able to accomplish this particular mission."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

Looking at the serious young shinobi, the Hokage of Konohagakure could not help but wish he'd had a longer childhood.

"Good. Hatake Kakashi-kun, here is your mission: you are to find a way to rid Sakura-san of the chakra suppressor that keeps her from using her medical chakra on herself."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

The Professor smiled at the young boy, ruffling his silver hair with his right hand.

"Keep an eye on her, Kakashi-kun."

He did not wait for the nod he knew the ninja would give him and swept out of the room, returning to the tower where a mountain of paperwork was waiting for him.

In the room, Kakashi was left in a meditative state. He had been wrong about Sakura. He had insulted her skills as a medic-nin, not knowing that she was highly skilled and that the only reason she had not healed herself was that a chakra suppressor kept her from doing so. He did not want to pry, but in order to free her from that horrible necklace, he would have to ask her about how she had gotten it. He only hoped that she was not pissed at him and would answer his questions. He had a feeling that the mission would take him a long time. He had better learn patience.

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Wow, that was dull. Well, it was to me, at least, because this is a filler chapter (it was easy to guess it) and I hate those–that's why it's short, by the way. I had a writer's block while writing it, too, which makes me hate it all the more. Anyway, continue to review!Bozu: boy


	14. Wake Up, Grab a Bite

Roughly two weeks after what had been called "The Battle", the emerald eye of a white-haired young woman fluttered open. A hand went to her head and found that her left eye had been covered with a piece of black cloth. She suspected that the bandages had been removed in favour of something that didn't so obviously indicate that she had just lost her eye. No, not lost, she remembered. Given. She tried to sit up and gasped in pain, her arms covering automatically her abdomen as tears of pain came to her only eye.

_Oh, Kami, that hurt like a bitch!_

Eventually, she managed to sit up against the headboard, using her pillow as a cushion. Panting, she observed the room patiently.

_Way too sterile and white to be anything other than a hospital. I doubt that I'm in an enemy base: they'd have put me in chains. Konoha it is, then._

Satisfied with her deduction (and having confirmed it by making sure she wasn't caught in a genjutsu), she scanned her body. It did not take her long to see that she had been clad only in standard hospital pants, her chest being covered in bandages, and that except from her right arm, the same one she had used to ram in that last ninja's chest, her other arm and legs were virtually fine. Of course, she hadn't voluntarily torn her muscles on those parts of her body forcefully, either.

All in all, it could have been worse. Satisfied, she nodded her head and opened the window. It was high time to get out of here. She had just put a foot on the ledge when the door of her room was opened joyfully by a certain Uchiha crybaby who was followed by his team mates. All movement stopped and both parties stared at the other. Finally, the silence was broken by a yell.

"Sakura-san!"

Obito would have jumped at her, no doubt reopening her wounds, had Minato not stopped him by firmly grabbing his collar. The result was a flailing shinobi trying to get his sensei to drop him. Sakura noticed that even Kakashi seemed a lot less tense than he usually was.

"Now, now, Sakura-san, you shouldn't try to escape from your room," admonished Minato. "I believe you've just awoken, ne? Why don't you stay in bed and relax?"

Sakura eyed him shrewdly, making him sweat a bit.

"Are you trying to keep me cooped up in here? Please, I'm a ninja, what do you expect me to do? And what are you trying to keep from me?" she replied flippantly.

"Nothing! Just, you know, you mustn't stress yourself, it could be bad for the baby!" said an embarrassed Minato.

Sakura groaned and passed a hand on her face.

"So this is what it's all about, eh? Kami, I'm pregnant, not injured! Okay, I _am_ injured, but this state isn't permanent. Being pregnant isn't like having an illness. I can still kick ass, if I may remind you."

"Yeah, on that subject…You got a page in the Bingo Books that says you're an S-rank ninja and that enemy ninja who see you should flee on sight. There is a portrait of you, too. Now, you'll have to use a henge to go on undercover missions. Sorry."

Sakura waved aside the news.

"That's no big deal, I already did that. Anyway, I already had a page in the Bingo Book– under an alias, of course– so I'm already used to it. May I remind you that I spent _years_ on the run and still managed to escape any hunter-nin who came my way? I'm a big girl, I can handle myself. Now, anything happened during my sleep? I assume I slept for a while, didn't I?"

"Hai, you did," said Rin. "For about two weeks. You weren't supposed to wake up so soon, either."

Sakura scratched her head absentmindedly and played with the knot on the black cloth covering her left eye.

"Two weeks, huh. Could be worse. So, you didn't answer my question. Anything new during those two weeks?"

"Sensei became the Hokage!" cried Obito.

"Wow, really?" asked Sakura while turning to Minato. "Congratulations. I just wish I'd been there to see it, it must have been grand."

"Really! It was great! Everyone was there and there was food and sake, and it lasted for three days, and…"

Hearing him talk so enthusiastically made Sakura chuckle. It was really cute and it was good to see that he hadn't lost all of his child innocence.

"That's great, Obito-kun. So, _Hokage-sama_, I suppose that it's now you I must ask for a few days of vacation, ne?"

Minato made a face.

"Argh, don't call me Hokage-sama, it makes me feel old. Just keep calling me Minato-san, please. There'll be enough people calling me Hokage-sama already, I don't need one more."

"Alright, Minato-san. Now, do I get my days off?"

"Sure," he sighed. "You're injured anyway. How many do you want?"

"A week will be enough, I think. I'll try not to extend it longer than that."

"What do you intend to do during that time?" asked Kakashi.

"Well, it's not _really_ a vacation, see, because I have to search for a certain person. This is in relation to the mission I was on before coming here," she finished with a significant look in Minato's direction.

"No way. That's too dangerous in your state. I forbid it," answered the blond Hokage firmly.

The white-haired woman sat on the windowsill with a sigh.

"I really don't want to do it, but if you refuse to give me your consent, I'll have no choice but to become a missing-nin again. You know I'd do it. Now, in which situation would there be more risks for me?"

Minato stared at her for a long time, observing the way her jaw was set and her eyes looked at him seriously. She really had not given him any choice.

"You win. Just don't get yourself killed. There are people waiting here for you."

Sakura nodded.

"I won't, I promise. I can't die yet."

"You'd better not."

The three teenagers looked at the serious adults with a mixture of dread and curiosity.

"What will you do?" asked Kakashi.

"There is a man looking for a way to destroy Konoha. I have to keep him from using the way he's looking for. If I don't…well, let's just say it won't bode well for anyone."

She finished her speech with a bright fake smile.

"I have a condition, though," said Minato. "When you come back–and do make sure that you come back– I want you to help at the hospital. We're at war, and any medic-nin will be appreciated. As it is, most of them already idolise you for your work on Obito-kun."

"Great, just what I needed. Fans," replied the kunoichi sarcastically.

"Yeah, well, that's the way of life. Anyway, get dressed, I'm treating you all to ramen at Ichiraku!"

"What, again?" whined Obito. "Sensei, that's, like, the third time this week! Can't we go anywhere else?"

"Ramen is good for the body and mind," retorted Minato primly.

"Says who? I'm the medic here, and I say you've got to eat other foods. Vegetables are good for you, believe it or not. I want an okonomiyaki and some dango. Sake would be good, too," demanded the white-haired woman tartly.

"You're pregnant," pointed out Minato.

"I don't intend to get drunk."

Minato ploughed on, ignoring how his argument had been waved aside so easily.

"Yeah, Jiraiya-sama told me that after three bottles, you weren't even slightly tipsy…"

"Baka. I'll just drink a cup or two, you get to bring the rest of the bottle home with you."

"Ooooh, sensei, Kushina-san will have your head if you do that!" laughed Obito.

"Shut up, brat, she won't," he grumbled.

"Forget it, sensei, you're whipped."

Minato glowered at his student who gulped and had the presence of mind to shut up.

"Obito-kun and I need extra practice. We'll catch you later!"

With that said, Minato took the young boy firmly around the neck and dragged him backward out of the room, the poor Uchiha looking terrified and tears running down his face.

"Soooooo…you guys hungry?" asked Sakura after a moment of silence.

"Sure," shrugged Kakashi.

Thus, half-an-hour later, the trio found themselves at a decent restaurant. Kakashi and Rin had fun watching Sakura spit out her dango sticks so they planted themselves firmly in the ceiling at a right angle.

"Hm…if I had more sticks, I could draw a face or something. Maybe a dragon. That would be cool," mused Sakura.

"Wow, Sakura-san, you're very good at that. How come?"

The older woman pondered how she should answer the question, before deciding to tell the truth as succinctly as she could.

"Well, one of my aliases is a girl who uses solely senbon, or just about."

"Only senbon? Isn't that dangerous?"

"Not really," replied Sakura. "I'm very adept at them, and as a medic-nin, I know exactly where to strike to kill efficiently without a trace more than a dot on the skin. If I hit at certain places, the victim could stop breathing or look like a corpse. In a joint, a senbon needle can stop the nerves from functioning or keep the limbs from moving in fear of getting the needle deeper or causing it to break in the joint, which can be quite painful. If they are poisoned, they can make the victim believe he or she is safe and return to the enemy base. You can then follow the trail. Etc., etc. Some of the most deadly medic-nin I know use mainly senbon."

With a grin, she plopped a senbon in her mouth and let it stick out like a cigarette, occasionally rolling it on the other side of her lips like a certain senbon-sucker of her time.

"Will you show us your henge?" asked Kakashi.

"Curious, aren't you?" she teased. "Sure, it's not like that identity is an enemy of Konoha."

With a few hand signs, her face gained some baby fat, her eyes became wide and innocent, their green closer to jade than her normal emerald color, her body became very slender and her hair bled crimson, tied in a few braids that made her look younger. Her skin became darker and her clothes changed to cream-colored ones, loose pants tied by a darker sash and a long-sleeved shirt under a red camisole. Her tattoos disappeared, only being replaced by an abstract one on her neck. The sand in the bottle hanging on her chest began swirling faster.

_Figured you'd like it, Shukaku_, she chuckled mentally. _Gaara would love to see me attired that way, huh? I suppose that dressed like this, I'm really his Kaze-hime, ne?_

"Sakura-san, that's so cute!" gushed Rin. "So when you're dressed like this, you're a whole other person?"

Sakura nodded and plopped a dango in her mouth, chewing it softly before elaborating.

"Hai, the point is to create a story for your alias and to keep to it at all costs. The hard part is fighting under stress and keeping to the style of the alias, not yours. For example, with this identity, I will never use a tanto. Of course, the way I dress is according to who I am, which means that I use ample clothes to hide my senbon in this form and that in my real form, I hide my weapons in my coat and poisons in the heels of my boots."

"So those boots aren't just for show?! Wow…"

The older kunoichi chuckled at the admiring look Rin sported and ruffled her hair with affection.

A month had nearly gone by and it was time for her to let her demonic chakra fill her body. To be frank, she was not looking forward to that moment. She gave Kakashi a small smile.

"I can sense that you've changed, already, Kakashi-kun. In time, you'll be renown throughout the countries."

He blushed under her praise, pink barely visible on his cheeks above his mask.

"You're exaggerating, Sakura-san."

She whistled merrily and took a bite of a dango.

"Who knows?" she shrugged with a small, secretive smile.

***************

okonomiyaki: a japanese omelette that looks a bit like a pancake. You can put whatever you want on top of it.

Another chapter of transition. To be frank, it kind of wrote itself, I did not intend it to go that way at all. Oh well, it's not that bad, rather light-toned, eh? On the next one, I swear it'll be different. Review, please, if you want to know what comes next!


	15. The Demonic Transformation

In her apartment, Sakura was busy making sure she had all the weapons she could need during her trip. On her bed, Narabi was pouting.

"I really wanna come, too. I want to see the boss."

"I already told you, there are very slim chances that I'll see him, but I promise that if I do, I'll tell him you're looking for him, alright?"

The fox grumbled and furrowed a bit more in her covers.

"I'd still feel better if I could come."

Sakura sighed and put a hand on her stomach.

"The babies are fine, see? Thanks to your protecting jutsu, nothing will happen to them. Don't worry so much."

"It's not for them I worry, mistress," murmured the fox. "You're still injured."

The kunoichi, who had turned away to sharpen a few kunai, glanced at him from the corner of her eyes.

"Everything will be fine. When I'm gone, I want you to keep an eye on the kids. Get one of the foxes to warn me if they go out on a mission alone. With their sensei who's now the Hokage, who knows what may happen."

She left the door unlocked, for who would be stupid enough to rob a ninja? The only thing that was truly precious there, except for her weapons, was the gigantic scroll that was the fox contract, and she had sealed it so that it could not be opened without her blood.

This time, it was alone that she crossed the gates of Konoha. She stopped only for a moment to look at the bright sky and was ready to begin her journey when she heard a feminine voice yell her name, making her turn around.

"Sakura-sama! Please wait a moment!"

Among the crowd, she could see a woman walking fast to get to her. A few heads turned to observe her, but the curious passersbys soon got on their way. She evaluated that the woman must have been about forty and, judging by her appearance and her clothes, an Uchiha.

"Sakura-sama, I'm so glad I caught you before you left on your mission!" she smiled. "My son, Obito-chan, told me you were leaving today only this morning. I'm afraid I was not aware that you were awake yet, or else I would have come by to see you."

"It's no problem, I have a few minutes to spare, and I only woke up yesterday, so don't blame your son. I suppose he had more to say about the torture his sensei put him through. What can I do for you?" she asked politely.

"I wanted to thank you for saving my son's life. Without you, I know he would not have survived and yet, thanks to you, it's as though nothing had ever happened. Don't be modest, I know the extent of the damage: his team mate, Rin-chan, told me everything. According to her, what you did was nothing short of a miracle."

"I only used my knowledge as a medic-nin to do my duty, Uchiha-san," said Sakura.

"Please, call me Hana-san, I can't have my son's saviour call me Uchiha-san. Here. This is to thank you."

She put a package in the younger ninja's hands and motioned for her to open it. Inside it, she found a beautiful ornate comb. It was decorated with sakura petals and made Sakura's heart clench.

"I did not know what to give you, and then I thought that you could use a comb. You can use it in normal times, and if you are on seduction missions, you can poison it to kill your target, so I thought it would be useful. Do you like it?"

"Hai," said the white-haired kunoichi, "I do. Arigato, Hana-san, it's beautiful."

"I'm glad that you like it, Sakura-sama. Please do come to visit us at the compound, I would be happy to have you over."

"I'll take you up on your offer sometime."

"Now go, I don't want to make you late."

Sakura nodded and tucked the comb safely inside an inner pocket of her trench coat. Without turning back, she dashed in the forest.

_What would you say if you knew you're the first one to give me such a gift since my childhood?_

When she felt that she was far enough from all civilization, Sakura stopped in a clearing and put down her backpack.

"Well, this should be good enough."

It had taken her a few days to get there, but she felt that it was worth it if no one got soon enough in the vicinity to be a problem to her. For miles, there was only forest and snow, so she figured she would be safe. She let her coat fall to the ground next to her pack to have access to the chakra suppressor on her arm. The band glinted innocently at her.

_Yeah, right. Time to get rid of you. For a while, at least._

She took a few deep breaths to calm down and brutally yanked on the chakra band. It slipped down her limp arm and fell on the snowy ground. A yell escaped her throat as she clutched her arm, blood flowing and staining her hand before running down the length of her arm and making little red circles with each droplet that was absorbed by the snow. She dropped to her knees, body shaking.

_Kuso, that hurt!_

She took great gulps of air and felt a wave of warmth as the demonic chakra began infiltrating every nook and cranny of her body. It then became painful as she felt her chakra reserves be pushed to accept more energy than they could contain. Yet, she knew that they would have to, so she took it in stride and let the changes happen. She felt her body morph, her muscles ripple and her bones crack and change. She was forced to stand on her hands and knees and felt fur begin to grow on her body. After what felt like an eternity, everything stopped and she dropped to the ground. She was now glad to have chosen such a large clearing nestled in a valley situated between high peaks covered in immortal snow. Her form was much larger than she would have thought. She now towered high above the trees and felt her strong paws sink a bit in the snow. She could not put weight on her left paw, as her torn muscles were not healed yet, but she could already feel them mending thanks to her demonic chakra. In no time, she would be able to walk around freely.

For the time being, she chose to lie on the ground and examine her capacities in this new body.

_Now that I think about it, I have no idea what kind of demon I am. I'll have to test that. After all, Shukaku is the Sand demon and Kyuubi is the Fire one, so what am I?_

She snorted when she thought that even as a fox, her hair did not change color. It was the silvery white of an artic fox, which was quite pretty and, if she thought about it, way better than pink. She didn't know what she would have done if she'd turned into a giant pink fox. That would have earned her laughs, that was for sure.

After having washed her body free of the blood and eaten a bite, she made her way out of the valley, happy that she had thought of hiding her chakra before coming. She decided to follow the mountain line for a while, not aware that up on the side of one of them, a young man living in a hut had seen the great beast cross the river by the foot of the mountain after stopping for a moment to drink. She would not know of it until a later date. For now, one of the foxes had suddenly appeared before her and told her the three young ninja that Sakura had told them to keep an eye on were in danger, so she took off at a run after ordering the fox to get her pack and coat back to Konoha.

****************

Hana: flower

Arigato: thank you

I had not planned the encounter with Obito's mother, but I thought that it would be strange for her not to appear to thank Sakura for saving her son's life, so here she was! I may use her again, we'll see. Review!


	16. Snow and Blood

She ran for hours on end before finally arriving at the area the teens were supposed to be in. The wind was harsh and the air was cold, but thanks to the fur covering her great body, she did not feel much discomfort. She doubted the three ninja could say the same, though. In Konoha, it was relatively warm, whereas here, snow covered everything and a storm was making it very hard to see and orient oneself. The heavy flakes clung to her silver fur, slowly weighing her down, and even though she had assumed her beast form, she felt that before long, she would begin to feel the cold. Finally, seeing that she would not find the kids in such a storm and would only lose her bearings, she went to the mountain that was looming over her and, with one swipe of one of her tails, tore it open to create a cave large enough for her body. With another swipe, she sent the debris flying outside and entered the cavern to wait out the storm, shaking the snow off of her coat in the process. Closing her eye, she felt her tails disappearing until only one remained.

_One per month, until I can use them all…_

Not far from the cave, two groups of ninja were hopelessly lost in the snowstorm. They were bloodied and bruised and some of them were in mild shock, but they still ran as fast as they could, hoping to make as much miles as they could in a temperature that made it much harder for the ones hunting them to follow them. They were acutely aware that they were going away from Konoha, but they would not lead the enemy ninja to the hidden village.

"Let's find a shelter, the storm is becoming too strong for us to continue!" yelled their leader over the wind.

"Taichou, I think I see a cave to our left!"

The other members of the group looked ahead to the left and saw a dark shadow in the otherwise white form of the mountain. The leader nodded and they all began to head to the cavern. As they got closer to it, they saw that it was quite big and wondered whether it would shelter them from the snow and the wind. However, setting foot in it, they noticed that it was clean and even warmer than outside. It did not take them long to find out why. In the farthest end of the cavern, after turning a corner, they suddenly found themselves face to face with the gigantic form of a fox.

"Oh, damn. Okay, everyone, back off without a sound, it must not wake up. We'll have to find another place," whispered the leader.

They saw in horror that an ear twitched and a great, big green eye opened and fixed them on the spot. The fox's nose sniffed the air and it rose on its massive legs. Immediately, they tried to run back to the entrance of the cave, but a heavy tail fell in front of them like a barrier.

"You disrupted my sleep, humans."

At once, the ninja stopped moving and gaped like fish.

"Taichou, it _talked_!"

"Tche. Of course I do," said the immense creature that lay down once again and closed its eye.

"Please don't kill us!" begged one of the shinobi.

The big eye opened again, but the beast didn't say a word.

"Calm down, ningen. I merely wish to wait out the storm in peace, but you arouse my curiosity. What are you doing here?"

"Why should we tell you anything?" asked a rather burly shinobi.

"You shouldn't. You don't know me. But I know that those," said the fox while pointing to three of the ninja, "know the mistress."

"Could your mistress be Sakura-san?" asked the lone kunoichi timidly.

The fox grinned a rather feral smile that made them shudder.

"I knew you'd remember her."

"Then you won't eat us? Man, I'm so glad!" cried out Obito as he flopped down on the floor, looking quite beat up.

"What happened to you? You all look injured. And shouldn't there be at least another jounin with you?" asked the beast with a raised eyebrow.

"That's 'cause we're being hunted down by some ninja who killed their sensei," indicated Obito. "Look, can we just crash down here for the night? We won't be much trouble, promise."

"Sure," shrugged the fox.

The ninja nodded in thanks and set down on the floor. They had lost their equipment and were wondering how they would sleep and who would keep guard when the fox made its presence known once again.

"You guys sleep, I'll keep an eye out for those enemy ninja. Just lie down next to my belly, I'll cover you with my tail so you don't feel the cold."

Surprised, the ninja turned to look at her.

"Why would you do that?" asked Kakashi with distrust evident in his voice and body language.

"The mistress wouldn't want you to die. You're all in pretty bad shape and you would not last long against skilled enemies. Stop arguing and come here. I'll bring you back to Konoha tomorrow. With a bit of luck, I'll be able to see the mistress," replied the vixen, closing her eye as though her statement closed the conversation.

They were too tired to argue, thus it was not long before they settled against her belly and fell in a deep sleep. Slowly, the storm abated and the night sky appeared.

The next morning, the teens woke up feeling safe and warm, but also very hungry. They had not eaten for a long time and were famished.

"You can't go out there alone, your enemies are probably still on the lookout for you," pointed the fox out.

"Maybe, but we still need food," pointed out Kakashi.

"True," sighed the beast.

_I can't believe I'm about to do this_, thought Sakura.

The fox rolled on her side and looked at them pointedly.

"Drink before I change my mind."

"Wh-what?" said Kakashi while taking a step back.

"Look, it may not be your first choice–or mine, for that matter– but until we can stop far away from here to hunt a meal, it'll have to do. Come on, I'm pregnant, there should be enough for all of you. If it's good enough for my pups, it should be good enough for you," she replied almost snottily, piercing them with an expectant look.

"Still…fox milk…" muttered Obito.

"You drink cow milk, what's the difference? Stop being prejudiced. It's that or you can go hungry. Your choice," she said with a tone of finality.

The ninja sighed.

_Obito, you better not recount this to anyone._

In the end, everyone drank and mounted the gigantic fox like a horse, settling on her neck. Said fox left the cave and immediately went south. Unfortunately, it did not take her long before she had to stop. In front of her, a wolf made entirely out of snow and as big as her appeared brusquely.

Snapping its jaws, it ran at her at full speed and tried to latch onto her neck, but she turned her body away and it merely snapped at air. She growled loudly and lunged at it. Her fangs plunged in its snowy body, but it did not seem to do much damage.

A few ninja appeared out of nowhere and surrounded her.

"How did you guys manage to piss off ANBU?" she asked rhetorically, eyeing the enemy ninja shrewdly to anticipate any movement on their side.

_This will be harder than I thought._

"We didn't! They were just jounin!"

Glancing further away, she then saw three jounin hiding among the trees and snorted mentally.

_Figures._

From her back, the six Konoha ninja sent jutsu after jutsu at their opponents, but they were too fast and experienced to get caught in them.

She did not have much time to think, as the snow wolf charged at her and, this time, managed to sink its teeth in the soft fur of her throat, scratching at her underbelly with its longs claws at the same time.

_Not my pups, you bastard!_

With a roar of fury, she yanked hard and managed to fight it off, not caring that she now had giant teeth marks on her neck and that her blood was heavily staining her immaculate fur.

_Now, this is personal._

The big wolf ran at her once again, but this time, she did not try to evade its attack.

"Hang on, guys!"

At the last moment, she swiped at him with her front legs, hitting it without restraint, tearing everything until the snow wolf was just a pile of snowflakes on the ground. Panting, she went back on four legs and turned her green eye to the other threats, snarling menacingly. However, the ninja didn't back down. They sent a wave of jutsu at her; she just twisted out of the way to evade them and swiped her tail at them. A whizzing sound warned her of a swarm of kunai approaching fast her protégés. Putting her tail in front of them as a shield, she growled when she felt them enter her skin. The poison began working its way in her body, slowing her down, but already, her demonic chakra was working on getting rid of it. She was getting really pissed off. She took relish in seeing them shudder when her tail punched the ground in front of them, creating deep cracks and craters.

"Watch out!" yelled suddenly one of the teens on her back.

Behind them, snow was rapidly falling from the mountain top in their direction. Great. An avalanche. Just what they needed.

"Hang on, you guys!" she replied.

She stood on her hind legs, putting her tail around the teens to protect them and waited for the avalanche to strike without giving a second thought to the ANBU and jounin at her back who were probably running for their life anyway. As the river of snow hit her full on, she skidded before finding her footing again and braced herself against the flowing wall of white. She managed to stay standing, but the snow eventually enveloped her. Still, she did not get carried off. She patiently waited for the avalanche to stop, which it did after a while. She then proceeded to dig her way out of her coffin. At long last, she collapsed on top of the new pile of snow and let her tail reveal her protégés.

Taking big gulps of air, the Konoha ninja observed the whiteness around.

"You think there's any who survived?" asked Obito.

"If there are, they're well under all this snow," replied Sakura. "Let's get going."

However, as soon as she put a paw down, the snow gave way under her weight and she found herself trapped up to her shoulder in the white mass.

"Kuso…"

Due to all of her movements, the poison had spread faster in her system and was paralyzing her rapidly, even with her demonic chakra destroying it.

"Get to the forest. Get cover. Run without turning back," she ordered.

"What? And leave you here?" asked one of the shinobi.

"For now, I'd only slow you down. Even as we speak, I can feel the poison at work. I need to sleep it off. My body will get rid of it, given enough time, but you must get going."

"Wait," said Rin, "I can do it for you."

The fox shook her great head.

"Iie. It would take you too much chakra and you're already low on chakra. If you use too much, you will succumb to the cold," she snapped.

"But…what if they manage to get out of the snow?" asked Obito.

"Then I'll fend them off and delay them, at least."

The ninja turned to Kakashi as, given his higher rank, he was now their taichou.

"Alright, we'll go. We'll go, but you better catch up."

"I will. Now go and don't turn back. Don't stop for anything."

"Don't die," said Obito.

"I won't. Go, now," she growled.

They ran, leaving behind the large beast who put her head on the ground and closed her lone eye. If they had turned around for a last look at her, they would have thought she was dead, for her matted fur stuck to her with blood and she was utterly immobile, save for her flanks that moved with each intake of breath. Tears stuck to their cheeks as they thought about leaving her behind, only one thought running through their heads.

_She'll come back. She has to._

***************

ningen: human

So, enough action for you? I didn't make Sakura use any jutsu on purpose, if you thought that she fought too much with only her teeth, claws and tail. I know that the thing with feeding them milk may have upset or disgusted you, but the way I see it, there was no way they would have had food with them. And it'll be the only disturbing thing in this story (I hope). Anyway, time to review!


	17. Kitsune no okaasan

It was on a bright sunny day that a great fox carrying on its back six Konoha ninja appeared at the gates of the village hidden in the leaves. The guards had not sensed Sakura coming and were thus thoroughly shocked to see her appear in front of them. Of course, given her height, ANBU had seen her come from afar and had warned the Hokage a while ago, so he was present when she arrived and was ready to enter into battle if need be. He doubted that would be the case since he hadn't sensed any killing intent from her and she was, after all, carrying six of his village's ninja on her back without protest. As soon as she stopped to a halt before the gates, said ninja jumped off of her back and thanked her politely, bowing low, to which she smiled and just as politely nodded.

"This is where we part, pups. I'd tell you to keep out of trouble, but you wouldn't, so I'll just say this: if you find yourself in trouble–real trouble, mind you–go to the nearest forest and say it out loud. There's always a fox listening who'll be able to help you out. Just say that you know Kitsune no okaa-san."

She turned to leave, ignoring the incredulous looks of both civilians and shinobi alike. A cry stopped her and she gave her attention to the silver-haired teen who had called her.

"Wait a moment, please. Did you not wish to see Sakura-san?"

"I sure did, but she's not here, unfortunately. It was not essential, but I would have rather liked to see her."

At that moment, a fox jumped on Minato's shoulder and cried out loudly.

"Okaa-san, have you found the Boss?"

"Iie, Narabi-kun, I haven't yet," answered the larger fox with a sigh.

"How about you wait here for a while?" suggested Minato. "You could rest and clean up."

Sakura bowed her head politely.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Hokage-sama."

"Iie, thank _you_ for bringing back our ninja safe and sound."

As the two teams had been sent to the hospital to get checked and healed, Sakura had shrunk to a small fox to get by without too much notice and had followed Minato to the Hokage tower where he had sat behind his desk and asked for tea to be served. Now, both of them were sipping their tea tranquilly and observing the other, Minato trying not to stare too obviously at the vixen sitting on her haunches in a chair and delicately taking sips of her tea like he would expect a clan head to do. He briefly wondered what the Uchiha and Hyuuga would say to that.

_How can I leave so that no one gets suspicious?_ wondered Sakura.

"Pray tell, how did you stumble upon my ninja?" asked Minato over his cup, looking shrewdly at her.

"Well, as you know, I was looking for someone in the area they were in and they wandered in the cave I was hiding in to wait for the snow storm to end. The mistress had told us to be on the lookout for your students and I immediately recognized them."

"How so? Had you ever seen them before?"

"Iie, but how many ninja of twelve have gravity-defying silver hair and hide their face under a mask?"

"Good point."

For a while, they sat in companionable silence, looking through the window at the lively Konoha.

"I do apologize for startling you," murmured Sakura. "I just wanted to get the kids to safety as soon as possible and did not think that it would seem to you as though I was coming to attack your village. I am happy that no blood was shed."

"Do not worry about it. Apparently, you'd been running for days with them on your back, so I can't fault you for that. Apparently, you were poisoned, too, but even though you forced my ninja to leave you behind, you caught up with them later on. It is rather admirable. They also told me that you fought the enemy ninja who were hunting them," said the Hokage over the rim of his cup, carefully analyzing his guest.

"I did. Fortunately, I did not have to use any technique, my teeth, claws and tail were enough to get rid of them."

"Techniques, you say?" asked Minato with interest gleaming in his eyes. "What kind of techniques?"

Sakura chuckled and shook her head, looking at her from the corner of her eyes.

"Now, now, you know I can't do that. How would you feel if the mistress asked you for the toads' special techniques?"

Minato looked surprised and she detached her eyes from the busy street below to look at him fully.

"Oh, please, don't be so surprised. I'm a summon, remember? Of course I know who signed their contract, even though we foxes tend to simply observe, just as I know that your wife is pregnant with a baby boy. We rarely get our noses in the human business–unless we want to have a little fun–but that doesn't mean we don't know what's going on. With my rank, all the foxes tell me what they learn. It's kind of my job to know everything. That way, I can be more useful."

The spiky-haired Hokage looked at her shrewdly from above his cup once more.

"Aren't you Sakura-san's greatest summon, the fox Boss?"

Once again, Sakura erupted in peals of laughter. The blond merely waited patiently for her to calm down.

"Sorry, I couldn't help me. I'm not the Boss. Actually, I'm his mate. If you thought I was massive, well, let's just say he's bigger than me. And fiercer, too. If he found out that I'm talking to you alone now, he would probably try to tear you apart."

Minato shivered at the thought of an even bigger and stronger fox dismembering him.

"Why? I haven't threatened you," he finally said.

"Iie, but he's very protective and I'm currently bearing his pups, so he wouldn't want me to be alone with anyone. Anyway. It was nice talking to you, but I must go find him," she explained, hopping down the chair.

"Sure. Let me walk you to the gates."

They made small talk along the way, completely ignoring the curious looks most people were giving them. Of course, Minato had felt a bit awkward at first, but the cheerful company of the silver fox had him soon laughing and talking excitedly, comparing life experiences and fights. Soon, however, they arrived at the gates.

"Give my greetings to your mate," said Minato.

"I will. I hope those three shinobi who lost their mentor will recover well."

"They are strong; I think they will not let his death weigh them down, even though I doubt they'll ever forget him."

"They shouldn't. Remembering the past is good for remembering where you come from and why you are who you are. If only for that, they will remember their mentor."

"One last thing, before you leave…"

"Hai?"

"I don't mean to be rude, but…how did you lose your eye?"

"Ah…that…I wondered when you would ask."

She began to walk away and the Yondaime was afraid, for a moment, that he had hit a sensitive nerve and insulted her, but then, she turned her head and looked at him with her lone green eye.

"I carved it out of my own skull to save my mentor."

With a last painful smile, she bounced in the forest and disappeared. Minato was left standing n the middle of the road, speechless.

_You two are sure alike, Sakura-san. Is that why they let you sign the fox contract?_

Sakura waited a reasonable amount of time before going back to Konoha as her human self. It was with horror that she put the chakra suppressor back on her upper arm, but she knew that she could not hide her demonic chakra forever. She had not found any clue of the whereabouts of Kyuubi nor Madara, but she did not feel overly worried. After all, if worse came to worse, she knew the exact date at which they would attack Konoha.

Jumping from roof to roof, she didn't bother to stop by her apartment and went directly to the Hokage tower, where she disturbed said Hokage by entering through the window.

"Sakura-san! As happy as I am that you came to distract me from all the paperwork, you really should have taken the normal route," he said with a smile.

"Aww, don't be like that! Your secretary is a dragon and she doesn't like me much. _And _I would have to walk all the stairs, brr! And anyway, you like it when I do that. So. I'm back. Any chance of a new interesting mission for me? Or do you want me to babysit your students?"

At that, Minato became serious and assumed his "serious Hokage" persona.

"I wanted to talk to you about that. Kakashi led the last mission and looking at his report, he proved that he was a good leader, so you won't have to be their taichou when I can't, but I'd still like you to train them from time to time; I believe they would learn much at your contact."

"Sure, no problem."

Minato smiled at her almost lazy look. It was nice to see her that way after fearing for her life not too long ago. However, he knew that the next news would not sit well with her.

"I want you to forestall your ANBU missions for the moment. My students are hospitalized right now with a group of shinobi who lost their sensei in the mission. I want you to replace him."

"WHAT?!"

****************

Not too sure of this translation, but Kitsune no okaa-san means approximately Mother Fox.

Not my best chapter and not much is going on in it, but I had to put the bases for the next part. And I did mention Kyuubi for all of you Kyuubi lovers! Now, the REAL FUN will begin! Don't forget to review!


	18. A New Team

Okay, guys, I'm late. Sorry for that. I hope this chapter compensates for that and the crappy chapter I posted last time. This one introduces very important people, so pay attention and don't forget to review, ne?

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A flock of birds sitting peacefully on the top of the Hokage tower cawed loudly while leaving their perch, surprised as they had been by the sudden outburst. Below them, the person who had yelled looked at the one who had made her yell in the first place.

The dragon of a secretary entered and, seeing the scene, tsked and admonished them, beginning a speech on the virtue of silence and how a Hokage should be an example for the villagers. It would have gone on for a long time if Sakura hadn't given the older woman a piercing glare that spelled death if she didn't shut up, while twirling a kunai in her hand pointedly. As such, the secretary meekly shut the door behind her as she left the room as soon as possible without seeming too afraid. As soon as the door was closed, she rounded on Naruto's father who, at that moment, looked eerily like his future son when she waved a fist dangerously in his face.

"Are. You. Crazy? For Kami's sake, they just lost their sensei! Give them time to mourn! I'd be like the evil outsider who'd try to fit in but wouldn't!"

"Maa, maa, I'm sure it wouldn't be that bad, Sakura-san," tried Minato to placate her. "They are good students and already survived the death of their families, so they should logically be able to survive their sensei's death, ne?"

Sakura pinched her nose and closed her eye, taking a deep breath to calm down.

_Naruto, your father is just as oblivious as you are._

"Minato-san, you're telling me I must take the place of their father figure. How do you expect them to take it calmly? They are still _kids_, even though they are considered adults as soon as they graduate from the Academy. Look, I will teach them, but don't expect our team to be fully functional for a while, at least. And no matter what, I've got to continue taking ANBU missions. You know that the village needs as many skilled ninja as can be used, so I'll just have to juggle with my two jobs."

"I hate to say this," said Minato, "but we're at war. They won't have a choice."

"Then I'll make damn sure they at least will have one another to watch their back and lend them support. I won't let that team be broken."

Still angry at him, Sakura disappeared in a flurry of petals, leaving behind a blond Hokage who felt somewhat down, but still had a small smile on his face.

_You'll be good for them, Sakura-san, you'll see. They'll warm up to you faster than you expect._

Sakura didn't know how to feel. On one hand, she was happy to have a team, but on the other hand, she knew that the members of her team would probably not accept her anytime soon. She sighed and passed her fingers in her long mane of hair, letting the soothing water of the shower wash off her worries along with the sweat and grime she had accumulated during the past days. Her hand strayed to her closed eyelid. At least Kakashi had not lost Obito. The price she had to pay for that was a small one, in comparison. An eye for a life…

She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a fluffy towel around her body, using another one to dry her hair. As she sat on her bed, she almost wished that Jiraiya was there with her, if only to take her in his arms and tell her that everything would be okay. However much she may have wished it, she knew it wasn't about to happen, for he was currently away, probably meeting with one of his sources. She knew that war was going on in Rain country. She would ask for her next solo mission to be in that area.

Narabi looked up when she entered the bedroom before lying back down in the nest he had made with her sheets.

"You're going to the hospital to see the kids, right?"

"I am," answered the kunoichi as she began putting on her clothes.

"You're lucky they didn't find out that you were the fox who saved them."

"Why would they have? I didn't lie, merely twisted my answers a bit. That way, they didn't get suspicious," she replied as she put on her coat.

"Still, it was dangerous," reprimanded the little fox.

"Don't worry. I don't intend to ever appear in that form in front of them again."

_Although I may not have a choice, if I don't manage to find Kyuubi and Madara._

She hesitated only a moment before hiding her face behind her usual bandages, figuring that she was not yet ready to stop wearing them.

_If they can help those teens to take me more seriously…_

On her bed remained the files of the three ninja, each one opened at the first page which showed a picture of the ninja and their name.

Mashimoto Yuu, Sanada Kyouya and Takarada Tetsuo, otherwise known in her time as ANBU Tiger, Eagle and Dragon, under the commandment of Shadow Fox, aka Haruno Sakura. She was going to hell.

A few days later (once the trios had slipped out of the nurses' clutches, just as any respectable ninja would), the teens who had lost their sensei were in a class at the Academy with the other unfortunate ninja who had recently lost a team mate or a sensei and were waiting for the reassignments. Yuu, Kyouya and Tetsuo were sitting in the back of the classroom, the first two playing shogi while the latter observed them, occasionally helping one or the other.

"We ain't accepting no new sensei," said Yuu as he moved a piece forward.

"I say we give'em hell," muttered Tetsuo.

Kyouya hummed and nodded. "We should see how he or she is first, I think. Then we can judge. But no one said we should make it _easy_."

The trio chuckled darkly, making the other ninja around shiver and get far from them.

A teacher entered the room and cleared his throat loudly.

"Listen up, everyone! You're here because you've all lost a team member. Now, it is time to change the teams to reconstruct them. Don't worry, your teams won't change much. For most of you, you'll only get a new team member, not be separated from your current team. Now, let me get the new sensei."

He opened the door and half a dozen ninja entered the classroom. Some of them were veterans, but others looked like they had just been promoted to jounin.

"Ne, who do you think we'll get?" whispered Yuu.

"I don't know, but I sure wish it's not one of the younger ones. That guy looks like he'd break if you blew in his ear," answered Tetsuo as he pointed to a frail-looking young man.

"Some of them look interesting, though," mused Kyouya. "That big guy looks like a veteran and to use such big weapons, he must have a great deal of skill, because otherwise, they would just impair his fighting."

"Bah, for all we know, it could be just for show," shrugged Tetsuo.

"True," agreed Yuu. "Sometimes, the most dangerous ones are those who don't look like it. Always look beneath the underneath."

"That's a very good point, Yuu-kun. Oh, and I wouldn't move that piece just yet, if you don't want to lose in 13 moves," breathed a female voice in his ear. The three shinobi jumped to their feet, weapons drawn, and faced a masked kunoichi crouched on the edge of the desk who flicked Tetsuo on the nose. "But you should really concentrate on what's being said," she added airily before walking up to the other teachers and greeting them with a wave, never taking her eyes off of her trademark orange book.

"Was she…_laughing_ at us?" gaped Yuu.

"At least, she didn't flick _you_ on the nose! That's so irritating! I'm no kid, dammit!"

"As for me, I find it rather interesting that no one sensed her before she revealed herself," said Kyouya.

The teacher at the front did seem surprised at her appearance.

"Sakura-san, I had no idea you would join us here today," he said.

"Yeah, well, I didn't get much choice. Do go on, sensei, don't let me disturb you," shrugged said Sakura to the astonished man.

"…Right."

It did not take long for the lone members to be assigned to new teams and soon it was time to introduce the new teachers. When he came to that, the chuunin turned to the teachers standing behind him.

"Anyone wants to go first? Um…Sakura-san?"

Said new teacher snapped her orange book shut and tucked it in her coat carefully.

"Right. I'll take the three in the back corner," she said, gesturing to Yuu, Kyouya and Tetsuo. "You guys have five minutes to meet me on the rooftop. If you don't," she continued as though she'd read their minds, "you'll have to find me, 'cause I won't bother to hunt down a bunch of kids who aren't serious about being ninja. _And_ I'll tie you up in a humiliating position on top of the Hokage tower. Naked. For three days."

With that said, she disappeared. Everyone in the class had gone silent.

"Was that a shark grin under those bandages?" piped up a timid student.

"Uh…you guys might want to go to the rooftop," suggested another one.

Still, the trio made no sign that they'd move anytime soon.

"Geez, guys, don't miss that chance! Don't you know how lucky you are?! Have you no idea of who she is?" raged a teen with shaggy brown hair.

At their blank stares, he continued: "It's a well-known secret that she's a frickin' ANBU, you idiots! She knows personally Hokage-sama and Jiraiya-sama! And you'd let that chance slip through your fingers? You wanna exchange places?! Baka!"

The trio looked at one another.

_ANBU?_

"Let's go, guys. We have 2 minutes and 17 seconds left."

They quickly jumped out of the window and ran on the wall up to the roof, where they found their new sensei lounging lazily with her infamous book in hand.

"So you came," she said as they approached. "Sit down. We have a few things to agree on before we begin."

With a shrug, they sat down in a circle and waited for her to close her book, which she did once she finished reading her page. She looked at them, satisfied.

"Okay. First things first, I'm Sakura, your new sensei. I won't tolerate any slacking off, but if you need my help, don't hesitate to ask for it, my door will always be open. Tomorrow, I'm going to test you to see your level and your strengths and weaknesses, so we can work on those. I know you may not like me, and I don't ask you to, but as a team, we'll have to work together. My goal is to turn you into capable shinobi who won't be killed on the battle field, because Kami knows you're way too young to be going there. Now, let's do the presentations. I want to know why you want to be a ninja and what you intend to do as a ninja. I'll go first to give you an example. I'm Sakura and my goal is to keep a certain man from destroying Konoha. Your turn, Yuu-kun."

"I'm Mashimoto Yuu. I want to be a ninja to protect those I love and I want to kill the ones who killed my family and my sensei."

"The name's Takarada Tetsuo and I'm the same as Yuu."

"My name is Sanada Kyouya. My goals are the same as those two."

Sakura sighed and shook her head. This would be more difficult than she thought.

"Being an avenger isn't as great as you may think. It's a path filled with loneliness and death. You're better off living your life and just protecting those you can. In the end, it's better for everyone that way."

"Che!" spat Yuu. "How would you know, anyway?"

She got up and faced the setting sun.

"Because my best friend used to be one. See you tomorrow at six-thirty at training grounds 14. Ja ne."

She jumped from the building, leaving them behind to meditate on her words.

****************

shogi: Japanese game similar to chess

ja ne: see you

A new era is beginning! Haha! The plot thickens…review to read more!


	19. Testing the Limits

The next morning, the trio decided to stop by the memorial stone before going to the training grounds. They had brought flowers with them for their deceased teacher. However, they found that they were not the only ones who had had a thought for the ninja who had lost their lives for the sake of the village. Standing in front of the memorial stone was their new teacher who didn't seem to care that the wind was blowing her hair and coat away. They bit back a groan at her sight. Even though they had nothing in particular against her, they didn't like that she was replacing their old teacher. When they were less than ten paces away from her, she turned her gaze to them, acknowledging them for the first time even though she must have sensed them a while ago. She nodded slightly at them.

"What are you doing here?" asked Tetsuo.

"Just having a thought for lost friends and comrades and praying for the peace of the ones whose names will be added here. As long as someone stands before them, they will not be forgotten, ne? Who knows how long _my_ name will be remembered once it's engraved here?"

They stayed silent.

"But you're ANBU, ne? They're supposed to be way better than anyone, no?"

"Better, yes, but not invincible, and most of the missions we take we're not supposed to come back from. They also have a lower life expectancy than regular ninja. With a bit of luck, you won't have to bear with me for too long."

With that said, she left them alone to mourn their lost teacher. Just before leaving the area, she gave them a last message that floated on the wind.

"I'm not your last sensei and I certainly don't intend to take his place in your hearts."

Nearly twenty-five minutes later, Sakura's students arrived at the training grounds, only to find their teacher reading her infamous orange book at the base of a large tree. The kunoichi seemed too relaxed for their taste and they decided to take her by surprise and impress her. Kyouya weaved chakra strings around the unsuspecting woman while Yuu began making hand signs for a long-range jutsu and Tetsuo went to attack her full front. The three attacks hit her full on and they gasped as they saw her fall to the ground, wounds gaping open and blood pooling on the ground underneath her.

"Kuso! She was supposed to evade that!" swore Yuu. "Any of you guys know some medical jutsu?"

Kyouya and Tetsuo shook their heads. The three teens kneeled next to their bleeding teacher who looked at them with her only glossy eye. They heard a branch crack behind them and whipped around. Three Kumo ninja stepped out of the woods, leering at them.

"Poor little lambs who are lost without their sensei…Don't worry, we'll finish her off and then we'll kill you swiftly so you won't feel a thing. You're just a bonus anyway. Thank you for hurting her this badly, by the way. I guess even she would let her guard down with kids like you."

"We ain't no kids! We're Konoha shinobi!"

The Kumo ninja only laughed at them, enraging the three boys who attacked. However, they were at a disadvantage, since the other ninja were faster and more experienced. At one point, a kunai nearly struck Tetsuo between his eyes and he decided too attack less recklessly, unless he wanted to lose his life. Kyouya was the one who was the most at a disadvantage, because he mainly used long-range techniques. His opponent managed to land a few good hits, but just when he was about to behead the young boy, a senbon pierced his head, both ends sticking out of his ears as he fell. Kyouya turned around to see Sakura wave slightly at him, having managed to sit with her back to the tree. She was holding her stomach with one hand and taking out another senbon with the other one. He quickly ran to her and crouched in a defensive position in front of her.

"Are you alright? We'll take care of this, just tough it out until we can bring you to the hospital! Someone is bound to notice they're here!"

"Kyouya-kun, listen to me…" she breathed out. "They're looking for _my_ death. To them, you are…just a bunch of kids…"

"What are you saying?!" he whispered harshly without taking his eyes off of the fight.

"Look…in my state, I won't last long, but they'll still have enough time to kill you three…I can't fight in this state, so…take this senbon and plunge it in my heart. They won't touch you if…ngh…if you help kill me."

"What?!" yelled the teen as he looked at her.

"Do it, then run away as fast as you can. They… shouldn't follow you, but if they do…other ninja will be able to help you out. Come on!" she urged him as she forced him to take the senbon.

He looked at it for a moment, before looking at his team mates who were fighting as best as they could to keep the enemies from getting to her.

"Iie. No way I'm gonna do that! Yuu and Tetsuo are doing everything they can to stall those bastards! We aren't leaving you! As you said, whether we like it or not, we're a team now, and a team sticks together."

Sakura smiled at him, although he couldn't see it, and closed her eye, her body going limp.

"Hey! Hey, don't! Don't give up! There's hope as long as we live!"

A whisper on the breeze was carried to him.

"You're right, Kyouya-kun."

Everything began changing at once. The enemy ninja disappeared, the grounds looking as though nothing had happened. When he looked back at Sakura, he saw that she had disappeared too and that there was no trace of her blood on the floor. Even the senbon she had given him was gone.

"What the?!"

His team mates seemed as disoriented as he was.

"What happened?" asked Yuu.

"I caught you in a genjutsu," Sakura said as she appeared in front of them. "Before you say anything, know that nothing you saw was real, except your reactions, which were exactly what I wanted to see. With this, I learned that you're weak against genjutsu, as you could not even sense that one and you don't know any medical jutsu. We're going to have to work on that. Kyouya-kun, you're good with chakra strings, but you rely too much on long-range attacks. It would be good for an ambush, but in a one-on-one fight, you're at a disadvantage. I'll help you with that, I know a couple of ways to use those strings in a close-range combat and we'll work on your agility and evading skills. Maybe we'll work on finding a puppet for you to manipulate in a fight."

"A puppet?" said Yuu. "Where would you find that?"

"I happened to work with a master puppeteer once. He gave me a puppet, a real masterpiece, too. It must be among my things. I'll lend that one to you until we get you one for yourself. Suna's ones are the best, so I'll see if we can get a mission there. If not, I'll ask for a solo mission in the area and take the opportunity to bring one back. Yuu-kun. You're good at long-range jutsu too, which is good for watching the back of your allies, but I think you'd do good with a scythe. It's a good mid-range weapon and would allow you to keep your opponents at bay. For now, we'll get you a small one, but once you get a bit more muscles and a tad taller, we'll get you a real one. You're going to have to work on your strength and equilibrium. Tetsuo, you're a more aggressive type, so an offensive position will suit you well. You have a strong frame and you'll probably grow up to be bulkier than the other two. We'll work on your defences, because you'll be the main one to take hits, as you'll be on the front line. Strength alone won't keep you alive, though, so we'll get you twin katana or something along those lines."

"Cool!"

"Great!"

"Listen up, you guys. That doesn't mean you must neglect the basics. I'll teach you jutsu appropriate to your element and some not, so that when faced with an enemy who has an element contrary to yours, you won't be naked in front of them. You have a lot to work to do, the first being on your chakra control and the expansion of your chakra reserves. Your weapons will be useful to you if you run out of chakra, but I'll teach you to infuse them with your chakra too, so you can parry any blow without them breaking or cut through rock if need be. I'm going to make you strong. We're at war, and I won't have you die on my watch! I want you to be able to stay alive if you are separated from the others. I promise you that if you work hard, you will become fearsome ninja! Now, you're going to run three laps around Konoha. We need to work on your stamina. And then we'll get you training weights. Get to it! I'm warning you, I won't follow you to make sure you don't cheat, because I believe that you should do this for yourselves, not just to make me happy. Though, if you really want to improve, you'll follow my orders."

The trio groaned and took off, goading one another into running faster. She watched them go with a smile, remembering a time when she had watched their older counterparts walk in front of her with poise, their strong shoulders eliciting a sense of protection in her. They had been like brothers to her then, handsome and strong and intelligent enough to challenge her mentally. A wave of nostalgia hit her. She would make sure that they became those respected elite ninja and that they lived long, fulfilling lives.

She used her free time to train by herself, thoroughly destroying the training grounds in the process. Only once did she have to stop because the chakra band on her neck started to strangle her and the outline of her ANBU tattoo was cut open. She thus had to stop what she was doing and take out fresh bandages to wrap around the bleeding tattoo. When the teens came back, panting but victorious, she took them to a weapons shop and spent the next two hours there to look for the necessary equipment. In the end, she was satisfied with their purchases and took her students to her apartment.

"Watch out for the traps," she warned them as they entered.

They almost jumped out of their skins when a volley of weapons was flung at them from seemingly nowhere. Sakura merely sidestepped the dangerous missiles and made some of them deviate from their trajectory with a kunai.

"Ne, watch your step or you'll end up worse than a porcupine."

"Why the hell would you put so many dangerous traps in your own home?" asked Yuu, incredulous and shaken.

"Well, it's good practice, and that way I'm sure that no one will want to steal anything. Anyway, some people are able to sidestep the traps."

"Oh yeah? Like who?"

Sakura mumbled something that resembled "old perverts who grope you at any chance", but they couldn't be sure, for she had turned away from them. They followed her to her bedroom where a few scrolls lay on a shelf. She perused them, mumbling incoherently, before finding the one she was looking for with an "Aha!" that sounded rather victorious.

"Ne, why does she have such a large shirt on her bed?" whispered Yuu to Tetsuo while keeping an eye on their teacher.

"No idea. It's way too large for her, too."

"That would be because it's one of Jiraiya's shirts and currently my favourite pyjama," said the kunoichi flippantly as she turned around, the scroll now in her hand.

The two teens became silent, blushing heavily as they realized that she had heard them, then at the implications of her statement.

"Here it is, my treasure. Kyouya-kun, I don't want you to use it yet, because we'll work on your chakra strings first, but from now on, you'll train with it on your back to get used to the feeling."

Kyouya nodded while the others watched with interest as the white-haired kunoichi bit her thumb and smeared blood across the scroll.

The puppet that appeared looked nothing like they had expected. It was a child of maybe eight or nine years-old in appearance who was dressed in a similar way as the one Sakura adopted when posing as an inhabitant of the desert. It even had the same red hair and green eyes and a cute face, looking very much like a younger version of Sakura.

"It's…cute…Will it really be useful?" said Kyouya dubiously.

Sakura let out a strange, almost painful laugh.

"Oh yes, it will. As I said, this is a gift from a master puppeteer, and I can assure you that all of his puppets were masterpieces. This one, in particular, is very deadly."

"If it's so perfect, why didn't he keep it?" asked Tetsuo.

"How to answer that? He had two reasons, I suppose. As he loved me very much, he wanted me to have something of his that could protect me and it was his way of saying "don't forget me." He was an amazing man who lived his art."

_And it looks so much like the daughter we do not have together._

Her students could sense that it was a pretty touchy subject and didn't pry. Sakura seemed so lost in the past and they wondered for a moment how old she really was.

"Older than I should be," she answered enigmatically.

_Way older. No one living in a twenty-one years-old body should have lived years more mentally, even if it was only while trapped in a jutsu._

***************

So, having fun, everyone? If you do, review!

Don't forget the poll, ne? Also, I'm sorry for the delay, but my real life is becoming pretty hectic right now. I'll probably post a new chapter Fridy or during the weekend, but then, don't expect any update until after the New Year festivities.


	20. Sick in Bed

Here is the last chappie before Christmas. Please enjoy and relax, hm? This is light-hearted, so no stress, drink a cup of warm cocoa or something and appreciate. Until next time, in a few weeks! (Note that reviews are always very much appreciated.) Now, enter my favorite comic relief....(drums rolling in the background)...Jiraiya!

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A few days went on peacefully, during which Sakura trained her team harder than they ever had been before and sometimes saw Minato's team. While her students grumbled that she was killing them, they couldn't deny that her methods were efficient, as they already could feel the changes. Their new weapons, too, were beginning to feel like a part of their body, almost like they were made to be together. Of course, they couldn't know it, but Sakura had introduced them to their preferred style of fighting in her time, so they didn't have to go through trial and error with different kinds of weapons until they found the ones they were most suited for. She had demonstrated to each of them how to use their weapons in the most efficient manner, looking deadly as she danced around the clone she had created to demonstrate the ways in which to hold and use the weapons. While she looked like a graceful lethal kunoichi with the scythe and twin blades, with the puppet, she looked like an artist, seemingly making no move related to the puppet, yet said puppet fought like a fury with each movement of her fingers. It was truly an impressing sight to behold, but Sakura was modest.

"One day, you'll surpass me if you continue to practice. I'm no master of those weapons, I simply know how to use them because I knew people who were deadly with them."

"Oooooh, who?" asked the curious teens.

"My team. Well, it _was_ my team, I can't even be sure they're still alive. You are very much alike and I'm convinced that one day, you'll be just as good as them."

She was happy that Kakashi had warmed up to her, ever since she had saved Obito, and she was hoping that her team would do the same. They were still not that close, mainly because they were still mourning their old teacher, but slowly, they were beginning to accept her in their circle. At least, they didn't question her authority or her teachings, for which she was grateful.

Yet, she felt that something was missing. During her days as an Akatsuki member, she had been accepted as the somewhat unconventional member, for she was the only one who didn't hunt the jinchuuriki because she could not heal herself and she would not be useful to the organisation if she was hurt. Therefore, she alternated between doing very lucrative missions (Kakuzu seemed to have transferred his uncanny ability to land those missions to her, or maybe it was just because people had seen them together and noticed that he sometimes almost seemed to be afraid of her, which was saying something) and healing the various members of the infamous organization. She had adapted relatively well to the life of a missing-nin, probably due to the fact that she had a bunch of men around her who were royally pissed every time someone looked at her longer than five seconds and acted in-between protective brothers and possessive lovers. She had found that to be strange, especially since they did not act that way with Konan, but had decided that it must be because Konan already had Leader to look after her. Now, in the past, she did not have their support (_Strange, why am I missing enemies I was spying on? Even if they were not that bad and we were comrades for a while._). Of course, she had Minato and his team and a team herself, but she felt a bit empty. As cheesy as it sounded, she needed a hug. She decided to put that on the hormones. Narabi had nothing to say to that. Throwing up alone each morning was no fun either. Yep, she really needed someone.

That morning, she felt more tired than usual and, after throwing up as she usually did, she went back to her bed, vaguely remembering that a virus was raging on in Konoha. Maybe, as a pregnant woman, she was weaker than usual against those. She did not dwell too long on it, however, as sleep claimed her the moment her head touched her pillow.

On that very same morning, her team members met at their usual training grounds and, after waiting an hour for her to show up, thought that she may have forgotten about them and gone to visit Minato's team, as she sometimes did. Unfortunately, it was not the case, as they found out when they met the trio at Ichiraku, and they were quite certain that she would have warned them if she'd gone on a solo mission.

"Ne, guys, you think she slept in?" pondered Yuu.

"Nah, not her. Besides, even if she did, do you really want to risk setting off her traps?" answered Tetsuo.

"Well, we can always knock," suggested Kyouya.

Thus, they said their goodbyes to Obito, Rin and Kakashi, who unfortunately had a mission and thus could not help them, and left the restaurant, only to bump into a very recognizable shinobi.

"Jiraiya-sama!" cried out Yuu in shock.

"Have you seen Sakura-sensei?" asked Kyouya politely.

"Hello, brats. So you three are the ones assigned to her, eh? Nice to meet you. I haven't seen her yet; I've just come back from a mission and I was on my way back from the Hokage tower. Have you looked for her at her apartment?" said the notorious pervert.

"Iie, not yet. We didn't want to set off the traps."

"Aaah, yes, the traps. Well, then, how about I come with you?" suggested the Sannin.

Before trying to enter, they knocked at her door. Maybe she was just still asleep. They heard a loud thump and the sound of something dragging on the floor and the teens imagined her dragging a mace to conk their heads with as a warning not to disturb her sleep again. Finally, they heard the traps being set off and the sound of weapons whizzing through the air, but they fortunately did not see any pool of blood forming at their feet by seeping through the door. At long last, Sakura opened the door with a bang, dishevelled and eye bleary from sleep. She was clad only in panties and one of Jiraiya's shirts that barely covered her breasts, the tattoos on her arms, face and neck clearly visible, although a blindfold covered her empty eye socket. The four males felt suddenly dizzy from blood loss at the sight of the sexy woman who lounged in front of them against the door and pinched their noses. The three teens had never seen her face before and gaped at her beauty, having imagined that she was old or disfigured.

With a satisfied smile, she grasped Jiraiya by his shirt and tugged him aggressively forward until he was trapping her against the wall.

"Now, _that's_ what I needed," she hummed as she closed the door to her apartment with her foot. "C'mere, 'raiya, wanna go back to bed."

"S-Sakura?!"

The stuttered exclamation of surprise from the notorious pervert was the last thing the teens heard through the door.

Her students were left standing in front of the closed door, shocked beyond comprehension.

"Well…" drawled Kyouya, "looks like we won't train with her today."

Jiraiya slowly extricated himself from the covers, moving carefully in order not to wake up the kunoichi in his arms. She was burning up, he saw, and went to the bathroom to wet a towel that he then pressed on her forehead. He had immediately seen that she was slightly delirious due to her fever and had convinced her to sleep, which had been quite hard, considering she only wanted to get in his pants. She would probably be hungry when she woke up, as he doubted strongly that she had eaten anything yet. Thus, he let her sleep, tucking her carefully, and went to the kitchen in hopes of finding something he could cook. Getting some rice out of the fridge, he pondered that it was the first time he would cook for a woman, usually preferring to take them out to a restaurant, and that he would actually do something for a woman without expecting anything in return. Sakura seemed to bring out new facets of his personality, but he did not think it a bad thing. He rather liked it, in fact.

Ha glanced at the sleeping woman. Her fever was abating, which was a good thing. The worst was done, now it was only a matter of time before she got better. Looking at her peaceful sleeping face, he thought that he wouldn't mind seeing it more often. Maybe it was time for him to move on from his crush on his old team mate.

There was a knock at the door. The sharp sound disrupted his thought process and he left the kitchen. On the other side of the door, he found the last Hatake looking at him from his dark eye, the other, bright green in color, safely hidden beneath his hitai-ate. The young teen observed him for a while, an eyebrow raised inquisitively.

"Err…Enter, enter, Sakura is in bed," blurted out Jiraiya.

"…Ah."

"Not like that, baka!" said the older man while conking the silver-haired boy on the head. "She's sick– nothing too serious, fortunately– but she's sleeping right now."

The Sannin closed the door, ushering Kakashi in the living room, which now fortunately had a couch. The two males observed each other. The silence stretched on, thickening with each moment.

"So…what did you wish to see Sakura-chan for?" finally asked Jiraiya.

Kakashi retrieved a scroll from his pouch.

"This is the mission that she's been asking for."

"A mission? Where to?" asked the intrigued older shinobi.

"Rain. She's to leave as soon as possible."

"Right. Leave it here, I'll give it to her," suggested Jiraiya.

"With all due respect, Minato-sensei told me to give it to her personally."

Jiraiya merely shrugged, not feeling offended in the least. He turned around, heading for the kitchen.

"Sure. You'll have to wait for her to wake up, though. Ya want a bowl of miso soup while you wait? I just made it."

Kakashi, following him, sat at the small kitchen table and nodded.

"Good. That way, at least, I'll know if it's edible before I give a bowl to Sakura-chan," joked the good-natured man. "Be sure to warn me if it's poisoned, ne?"

Kakashi refrained the urge to roll his eye and took a sip of the warm soup. Surprisingly, it was quite edible.

Sakura felt much better than before when she woke up. She did not feel so dizzy and her mind was clear once more. Blushing, she figured she'd have to thank Jiraiya later for taking care of her. She gingerly got up and went to the living room. Two heads turned to her immediately as she rubbed the sleep out of her eye and coursed a hand through her long hair.

"Hey there, beautiful," smiled Jiraiya. "Hungry?"

"Very," she smiled back. "Thank you for taking care of me," she said as she flopped down on the couch next to Kakashi.

"How long have I been out?"

"A couple of hours, you slept most of the day away."

She craned her neck and saw that the sky was dark outside.

"Better say: the whole day," she muttered. "Anyway, Kakashi-kun, what are you doing here?" she asked him as she nudged him.

"Here. It's the mission you wanted in Rain country," he replied as he put a scroll in her hands.

"Good. Let me see…"

She opened the scroll and immersed herself in its contents, humming occasionally or making disgruntled noises in her throat. In the end, she threw it on the nearby table with a sigh and pinched her nose.

"Bad news?" asked Jiraiya as he came back, a bowl of miso soup in one hand and a plate of onigiri in the other.

"Iie, not really. I may be gone a while, though."

"Are you sure it's wise? Don't forget you're pregnant."

"I'm not. It's just that I will go on this mission as ANBU."

"Then you'll at least have a team with you. That puts my mind at rest."

She shook her head.

"Iie, Jiraiya-kun. It's a solo mission. I'll leave as soon as possible."

*****************

Action once again in the next chappie! I know development between Sakura and Kakashi is really slow, but keep in mind that this Kakashi is just a teen who's known her for barely more than a month. I promise they'll still end up together, though. Now, reviews, please? Do I have to pout and make puppy eyes? And don't forget the poll either. Please tell me if you want Jiraiya to end up with Tsunade or not.


	21. Rain

And after a long absence, I'm finally back! Thanks for the reviews, everyone! Now, because I'm in a good mood, let me announce something: I'm going let my 100th reviewer ask me a question about the future plot of this story. ANY question. I know when you ask me about future events, I tend to tell you to wait and read it, but because I'm in a good mood, I'm gonna answer 1 question. Be aware that only my 100th reviewer will have the answer, though, so log in before you review, 'cause if you don't, I won't be able to answer you personally. Also, as a gift for my 101st reviewer, I'm gonna write any Naruto fic that you want. Just give me the basic plot you want me to write and I'll work with that. WARNING: if the 100th and 101st reviewer is the same person, I'm gonna skip to the 102nd reviewer for the fic request. I'm awaiting your reviews, guys!

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Sakura had not wasted any time and, after eating her fill, had gotten out her ANBU outfit, looking at it with something akin to nostalgia.

_How long has it been since I last wore it?_

The form-fitting garments felt so familiar that she let out a chuckle. Her chest plate would nicely protect her stomach, but she still used the protecting jutsu Narabi had shown her. Her ANBU tattoo was displayed proudly on her left shoulder, above the chakra band. The elbow-length fingerless gloves hid the tattoos on her arms, for which she was thankful. The white arm guards were scratched, a sign that she had used them many times before. She hid her face behind the usual bandages and put her porcelain mask on the side of her head. The fox it represented seemed to cry tears of blood, as she had painted a vertical line at the corner of each eye slit. She remembered well the story of her mask and recounted it mentally as she passed a hand on the white porcelain.

"_Here is your mask. Paint it as you see fit. Why did you choose that codename?"_

" _Shadow Fox? Because I'm only a shadow of what Naruto could be. I'll always stay in his shadow to protect him. He is the one who should be Fox, and as he can't, I'll cry and bleed for him until he can. Thus the blood tears I'm painting. I'll forever be his shadow."_

"_Hm. That's noble of you."_

When she emerged from her bedroom, the two males fixed her with almost blank gazes; she could see they were worried for her, so she gave them a small, reassuring smile.

"Don't be that way, guys. I'll be alright, you'll see. But I promise I'll be careful."

"You better be."

Surprisingly, that almost nonchalant comment had come from Kakashi. Sakura convinced herself that the moisture in her eye was due to the virus she had caught and nodded to the teenager. Bending down, she trapped him in a bear hug that made him splutter and blush under his mask.

"Ne, Jiraiya-kun, Kakashi-kun, will you accompany me to the gates?"

Before leaving Konoha, Sakura wanted to see her students one last time to give them a scroll containing her instructions for their training during her absence. She thus looked for them everywhere, before finding them at Ichiraku.

_So predictable. I should have thought of it earlier._

She nodded to Jiraiya and Kakashi, who left her alone. She needed some privacy, especially considering that with her mask on, they would not recognize her. Jumping stealthily from the roof she had been standing on, she made her way to the ramen stand, uncaring that many people now looked at her with curiosity, ANBU usually choosing to stay hidden to observe and protect their village. When they did show themselves, it was, more often than not, to give a mission to someone or tell the ninja that the Hokage was waiting for him or her. It was exceedingly rare to see one lounging or just walking when on duty. Off-duty, no one knew who they were. It was thus with curiosity that many passersby watched Sakura approach a group of genin at the famous ramen stand. She did not have to announce her presence, as everyone had gone silent and was watching with rapture the unusual scene. Yuu, Kyouya and Tetsuo turned around, surprised, and observed her.

"What can we do for you, ANBU-san?" asked Kyouya with his usual politeness.

Without a word, Sakura took a scroll from a pouch and stretched her hand toward them, the scroll clasped firmly between her fingers.

"From your sensei."

As soon as Kyouya took the scroll, she disappeared, leaving behind naught but a puff of smoke.

On the roof of a house standing across the street, Jiraiya and Kakashi turned to each other.

"A shadow clone?!"

It did not take them long to realize that Sakura had not wanted them to follow her and see her off. With a sigh, they jumped down from the roof and caught the eyes of the mildly confused trio. Less than a minute later, they were standing in an alley not far from Ichiraku.

"Did she tell you anything?" asked Jiraiya.

"Iie. Why? Was she supposed to?" wondered Tetsuo.

"We thought she would, seeing as how she wouldn't leave her students without at least a last word."

His flat statement made the trio falter for a second. They looked at him with wide eyes, daring him to tell them that it was a joke. No such words came.

"_That_ was Sakura-sensei?" asked Yuu.

"Hai, it was," answered Kakashi flatly.

"But…wasn't she…sleepy or sick or something?" asked Tetsuo.

"Hai."

"And she _still_ went on a mission? Without us?"

The hurt in the young voice was almost palpable.

"Kiddos, she's going on an ANBU mission. Of course she couldn't bring you with her. It's dangerous enough as it is…Don't take it personal," explained Jiraiya.

"Is she going to leave us?" asked Yuu.

"Na, she'll come back, don't worry."

"Can we at least know where she went? I know we can't ask for the details of her mission, but we can at least know that, right?"

"Hai," sighed Jiraiya. "She's going to Amegakure."

"Rain? There's war there, too, isn't there?"

"There is. Even more than here. Don't worry about her, but just don't expect her back for some time."

Sakura ran through the woods, her gaze never wavering from her target, which was a group of elevated trees from which she could see the village nearby. Said village was mostly in ruins now, according to her mission scroll, but apparently, fights between the countries often erupted here.

From her perch in one of the trees, she could see the destroyed houses and ninja running around, fighting one another, leaving charred corpses and burning homes all over the place. However, something was not right. She could see headbands on the heads of a group of ninja who didn't act _right_. They were Konoha ninja, yet they acted recklessly, destroying things that could have remained alone. Time to start her investigation.

At that moment, she wished that Narabi had been there with her. However, the fox was rather elusive at times and, considering he still searched for Kyuubi, she could not blame him. Though, if he'd been with her, he could have spied on the village without being noticed. _No use sighing over it now_, she mused. _If I summon another fox, the flare of chakra will surely alert those ninja... _Her thoughts strayed to the Konoha ninja. She could swear any Konoha ninja was supposed to be further up north.

She furtively advanced in the shadows, becoming one herself in order to keep from being seen. At the corner of a house, she saw some ninja ransacking a shop and frowned. This was yet another anachronism that did not sit well with her. Slinking nearer the curious ninja, she slowed down her breathing and listened carefully to what the four men were saying as they pillaged the broken-down shop.

"Kill any resistance. Don't kill the civilians unless they attack."

"Why the hell? Wouldn't it be simpler to kill everyone?"

"'Course it would be, but we want to leave an impression. They must hate Konoha, but not be completely terrified. Hate must win over fear. That's why we won't kill the civilians. The boss said so."

"You met him?" asked one of the men.

"I sure did. That's why _I_ lead this rampaging and not you. I don't know his name, but as long as he pays me, I don't care. He just contacted me and gave me those Konoha hitai-ate with the instructions I gave you. Now, let's see if there's anyone worth killing here."

_I heard enough._

She created a few clones and let them take care of the ninja, choosing to see if there were any survivors among the villagers who had not been able to flee. Turning around, she evaded a kick to her face which collided with the wall behind her and punched her assailant. The false Konoha ninja fell to the ground and she unsheathed her tanto, using it to block the kunai coming her way. Fortunately, the man wasn't very skilled and it didn't take her long to take him down. She then took his hitai-ate and proceeded to hunt down any other false ninja in order to take back the hitai-ate. At one point, she saw a couple of them enter a house and heard a cry, followed by a heavy thud. The thugs looked at the fallen villager, swearing under their breath. She saw a little, tear stricken face peer timidly from the other room.

"That's just a kid," one of the men said.

The kid yelled loudly, rage brimming in his eyes.

From behind the two men, Sakura suddenly jumped down from the ceiling.

"That, guys, was a very bad move," she whispered in their ears before slicing their carotid artery open with one slice of her kunai-armed hands. The men fell to the floor heavily, their already unseeing eyes never blinking as they took on that color unique to dead bodies. She snorted and wiped her kunai on their clothes, making sure there was no trace of their blood left to mar her weapons.

"Che. Scum."

Bending down, she grabbed their hitai-ate and tied them next to the ones already suspended at her waist. Once that was done, she looked to the child carefully.

"You can come out, kid, I won't hurt you."

The killing intent abated somewhat, but the boy did not leave the other room. Sakura sighed and pushed her porcelain mask to the side, figuring that the grimacing face wouldn't help the child relax and trust her.

"They're dead, you've got nothing more to fear from them," she said as she sat down back to a wall facing the open door.

"There are others outside," came a little voice.

"Iie. See those hitai-ate? They're proof that they're dead. My clones should have taken care of the rest of them. Come on out, you can't stay here. Do you have any family?"

The answer was long in coming, but when it did come, the scrawny boy showed himself, which was a huge step.

"Iie. They're all dead. You're from Konoha too, aren't you? How come you killed them?" he said, gesturing to the men on the floor and the glittering hitai-ate at her waist.

"That's because they were just impersonating Konoha ninja. I was sent by the Hokage to see what caused trouble in this area and to make sure it did not happen again. I did not think I would see impostors."

Her gaze clashed with the boy's Rinnegan and she felt the child assessing her, examining even the confines of her soul.

"Look, if you don't trust me…"

She got up and made to leave, but his voice stopped her.

"I trust you."

Clearly, he did not want to remain alone among corpses, especially those of his family.

"That's good. Do you have anywhere you can go? I can bring you back to Konoha if you want, I'm pretty sure I could arrange for you to stay there."

"Iie. I want to stay in Rain and to help my people. One day, I'll become a ninja able to protect everyone in Rain!"

"That's a noble goal, a goal worth pursuing, but remember that no one is invincible, alright? Now, come on. The village is not safe. Climb on my back, we'll go faster this way. Do you know a place where you could stay?"

"Hai, I do," answered the kid as he climbed on her back slowly.

Sakura got up and readjusted her blood-stained porcelain mask.

"Then show me the way."

* * *

Guess who the kid was? I tried not to deviate too much from the manga, so sorry if it's not completely compatible. And I'm introducing part of the plot here! Time to review, everyone! And please don't forget the poll. That being said, if you think of any plothole, please tell me, I try to think of everything, but I'm just human.


	22. Mounting Tension

Clusters of rock surrounded the village and made the area rather inhospitable. Moreover, Rain was named for a reason: as soon as Sakura came out of the house, a heavy curtain of water fell down from the sky, thoroughly drenching the ANBU and the child.

Following the kid's directions, the white-haired woman ran far from the village and into the rocky mountainous countryside. It did not take her long to stray from the normal paths and disappear among the rocks, far from the ruins of the village. After an hour or two, the child directed her to a cavern carved into the rocks. She put him down and followed him silently.

He stopped suddenly, seeing that there were already two children in the cave. At the sight of the ANBU, the boy and girl adopted a defensive position, rocks in hand ready to be thrown at her. Sakura put her hands up soothingly.

_This is getting repetitive. Gah!_

Eventually, after convincing the two new children that she was no threat and explaining to them that the Konoha ninja in the area were false ones, they all sat down next to a fire that Sakura had made. As the three children were famished, she gave them what meagre food she had brought.

"You sure?" asked the girl. "I mean…that's yours, after all."

"It's okay, Konan-chan. The three of you need it more than I do. How much time has it been since you last ate something?" asked Sakura.

Konan blushed and looked down guiltily.

"Days, huh? Don't be afraid. Eat, it's not poisonous."

After a while, the kids, satiated, cuddled all together, while Sakura sat back to a wall and observed them. The future Pein looked at her drowsily with his Rinnegan eyes.

"Are you gonna leave us here?" he asked sleepily.

"I don't really have a choice. My mission isn't finished. I have to warn the real Konoha ninja of what's going on here," replied Sakura calmly.

"Will we see you again? I mean, ever?"

"We might, we might not," she answered evasively, her eyes fixed on something that wasn't there. "If you become strong ninja, we'll probably meet again, one way or another."

"Then I'll become the best ninja there is, so you better not forget that!" he said decisively.

"Sure. I'll come see you. You guys keep together, alright? You'll be stronger that way."

The silence stretched for a long time and she could almost have believed them all asleep when he said sleepily: "Then I'll wait for you."

Sakura hummed in agreement, toying with one of her kunai.

"Sleep, I'll watch over you tonight."

When the three children woke up, they immediately wondered where Sakura was. There was no trace of her in the cave. They would have thought they'd dreamed of her existence, had she not left a large boar roasting over the fire and a note pinned by a kunai at the exact same place she'd been sitting in when they'd fallen asleep. While the two boys cut some meat to eat, feeling hungry once more, Konan read the note aloud.

"_Sorry to leave without warning. I stayed as long as I could, but I did not want to disrupt your sleep just for goodbyes. Be strong, you three, and keep together. Remember that if gods could stop wars, wars would not exist and that pain is not the solution. Find your own way to peace, hopefully without destroying others' lives, for what good is peace if others have to experience the same thing as you in order for you to gain it? Remember that peace should not be drenched in blood. Until we see one another again._"

The two boys nodded thoughtfully.

"We'll become the best and protect our country. And then, when one of us is Kage and she can be proud of us, we'll see her again."

"Hai!"

With the advice she had given them, Sakura could only hope that this time, the trio would not end up founding Akatsuki. It was a fickle hope, but she felt that they had not been turned away from the right path yet and that they could really become virtuous ninja. How she hoped that was the case. It was gambling, she knew, but she didn't have the heart to kill them just to prevent the possibility that they could create the dangerous organisation. As it was, she already had other problems to worry about, such as warning the real Konoha ninja stationed further to the north that they were being impersonated.

The camp was well-hidden and protected, but Sakura had been shown a map in the Hokage's office that indicated where it should be situated. She let her chakra flare out to warn the guards that she was coming and soon stopped, waiting for them to appear. It did not take them long. Even as well-hidden as they were, she could sense them. After waiting for a moment, she felt one of them appear behind her and had to duck to evade a kick to her abdomen. She crouched a few paces away, growling dangerously.

"What. The. Hell. Was that for?!"

"Even though you appear to be one of us, explain to me why you've got bloodied Konoha hitai-ate tied to your waist!" demanded the rather burly-looking shinobi.

"That's exactly why I was coming here! Will you let me explain without attacking me any further or do I have to kick your ass first?" she seethed, cracking her knuckles menacingly.

A few hours later, Sakura left the leader's tent with a scroll describing the current situation.

"It's a shame you can't stay to help us," said the leader as they came to the edge of the encampment.

"I know, but Hokage-sama was already difficult enough to convince to let me come here in the first place," answered Sakura. "He kinda didn't want to let a pregnant woman go on the battlefield. I can't blame him, really, but it tends to be annoying at times. Ja ne!"

She then jumped in the trees, not waiting for the man's answer. He was left standing there, gaping.

"She's crazy... I wonder if they're all like her in ANBU," he muttered.

Sakura was in a bad mood. Scratch that. A _really_ bad mood. She had been running without stopping for _days_–_days_, damnit, not hours!–and was tired, which made her cranky. She had not eaten anything since her encounter with the three children of Ame and she had just survived an attack made on her by a squad of Iwa nin. All in all, she was tired, hungry, and in no mood to do anything else but sleep. Unfortunately, those Iwa _bastards_ had decided to attack her. Couldn't they have left her alone? _Now_, she was tired, cranky, hungry _and_ hurt, for they had managed to land a few hits before she had kicked their asses all the way to hell. She had left the bodies behind, angrier than before.

The guards at the gates of her native village saw her coming from afar. They only had to take one look at her to see that it was better not to stop her. The blood that covered her had long since caked over, but it still disgusted her and the long gash on her thigh was hurting like hell each time she moved her leg. She prowled dangerously up to the guards and looked at them behind the cover of her blood-specked porcelain mask.

"Tell me the Hokage is at the tower."

The guards nodded, not daring to say a word in case they angered her.

"Good," she muttered.

It did not take her long to run to the tower, jumping from rooftop to rooftop at a speed far superior to that of normal ninja who let her pass by, looking bemusedly at her back once she'd gone. For once, she took the stairs and stalked up to the Hokage's secretary's desk. The secretary was manicuring her nails, but she looked up when Sakura slammed her bloody hand on her pristine desk, smearing blood on it and leaving a crimson imprint.

"W-What can I do for you?" stuttered the woman as she tried to compose herself.

"Not you. The Hokage. I need to see him _now_."

The tone was dangerous enough that the secretary knew not to argue, and the appearance of the white-haired woman only added to the impression that she was capable of bestial cruelty. It is thus no surprise that the secretary squeaked like a mouse trapped by a cat and scurried to the door behind which an unsuspecting Yondaime was doing paperwork and trying his best to manage the village.

After two knocks, the secretary announced Sakura and opened the door, letting the dangerous-looking woman enter before closing the door behind her and returning to her desk.

_Tche._

In front of her, Minato looked up from the paper he had been reading before becoming serious. He gave her his complete attention and scrutinized her with his piercing blue eyes that were, for once, not glinting happily.

"Report."

"The trouble in the southern part of Rain country was caused by enemies who were masquerading as Konoha ninja. They intended to turn Rain against us. I killed them and brought their hitai-ate back. Everything is in my report," she said as she put a scroll on his desk. Blood stained it, due to the liquid covering her hand, but Minato didn't seem to care. He nodded to her.

"Anything else?"

"Hai. When I warned the ninja stationed further north, they gave me a report of the situation," said Sakura as she put a second scroll on the large desk.

"Good, thank you. That will be all."

Sakura nodded and turned around.

"Oh, and Sakura-san?"

"Hai?" asked the kunoichi as she turned her head to look at him over her shoulder.

"Get some rest, will you? Go to the hospital and get healed, then sleep it off. You'll be able to relax for a while: your students are not here."

The young woman stilled, dread creeping up her spine.

"What do you mean, "not here"?"

"I sent them with my team at the border of Wind country to bring supplies to our ninja. They left this morning. Don't worry, Orochimaru volunteered to lead them there. He said to tell you that he would take good care of them."

"Kuso! That teme! I'll kill him if he did anything to them! Didn't you ban him?" she exclaimed.

"Ban him? Why would I have done that?" asked the bewildered blond.

"You mean you don't know?! That sick sadistic bastard experiments on children and now he took our teams! What do you expect him to do with them?!"

The Yondaime was left speechless.

"If what you said is true…"

"It is. Search his house, there should be an underground facility where he keeps his "experiments". I'm going after him. He won't escape from me," said the enraged kunoichi firmly.

"But you just came back from a mission! At least go to the hospital first! And I'll give you mission partners!"

"No need. There would not be enough time. Besides, this is personal. He attacked _my_ students, my family. His head is MINE!" she positively roared.

Looking at her, Minato had no doubts that she would do exactly as she said. He had a conviction that she could bring the Sannin down if she put her mind to it, if her state was anything to judge her by.

"Go get him."

No sooner had he uttered the words that she was gone, leaving behind only a swirl of sakura blossoms. He looked out the window, seeing the full moon bright and shining.

_I place my hopes in you, Sakura-san…Stop him._

***************

Oooooh, cliff-hanger! If you want more, you'll have to read and review! Muahahaha, I'm so evil!

Teme: bastard

Ame: Rain


	23. The Confrontation with Orochimaru

Once more, Sakura ran with all her might. The guards at the gates barely had time to see a blur pass by them as she ran. Her mind was focused solely on the six young ninja at the mercy of the sadistic Sannin. Behind her mask, her lone eye flashed brightly with hate and determination. One of them would not make it out alive, and she sure as hell would make sure that it wasn't her.

The ground passed by so fast that it became a mess of browns and greens to her eye, but still, she pressed on harder than ever before, pushing her muscles to the limit. She could feel them strain, her left thigh burning as the muscle stretched painfully where the gash had indented her flesh. She had barely slowed down enough to bandage it and a question had then sprung to mind.

_How come Kakashi never told me that he was kidnapped in his youth by Orochimaru? He always told me everything. Unless…unless it didn't happen. Have I really changed the past to this point? Which means…the one Orochimaru wants is me, not them, and this is all just a ploy to get me out of Konoha. That sneaky little bastard…And I thought he'd been banned already! Had I known, I would have hunted him down earlier!_

Their trail was not easy to follow, but Sakura had the feeling that the snake bastard would have tried harder to conceal it if he'd wanted her to lose trace of him and his preys. Brusquely, the trail deviated from the direction of the border. At this point, she was already far enough from Konoha that anything that went on would be unheard from the village and the border. Orochimaru must have thought so, for the trail went on, staying always approximately at the same distance from the border.

_Clever, Snakie, but it won't change a thing. Your ass is mine._

It went on for some hours and she could see that the teens must have tried to resist, to no avail.

_If they're hurt, I'll make sure you suffer ten times more when I catch your snaky butt._

The trail suddenly stopped. Sakura growled and sniffed the air before flinging herself to the right, evading a volley of kunai. She had sensed him further away, to the left, which meant that the one who had appeared in front of her was a clone. Well, two could play that game. She let her own clone look for the teenagers while she sent a swarm of senbon flying at the clone. None of them hit, but they distracted the false Orochimaru long enough for her to yank on the chakra strings tied to them and send several of them piercing the false body that erupted in smoke.

"That was way too easy. Get out, Orochimaru, so we can _really_ fight!"

Her shadow clone suddenly poofed out of existence, its memories transferred to her. She smirked and sent a boulder flying in the direction of the Sannin who could do nothing but jump out of the way to escape it, during which time she ran further to the right and smashed a boulder to pieces. The shards went flying everywhere, piercing several snakes hiding in the underbrush. She then punched the ground open, revealing an underground tunnel in which the teens were held prisoner, guarded by a group of larger snakes. With a snarl, she slashed at them with chakra scalpels. As they writhed in pain on the floor, she quickly freed the young ninja, assessing their state with a glance. She had to hurry, for the traps her other clones had set up would not keep Orochimaru busy very long.

"Get out of here. Quick!"

"S-Sakura-san?" stuttered Obito. "Is that you? What are you doing here?"

"No time for that! Run and don't look back!" she growled angrily with urgency in her voice.

"We can help!" argued Kakashi.

"Just run! Don't stop before you reach Konoha, do you understand? You would only be in the way. I can't fight efficiently and keep an eye on you at the same time."

They nodded, but Kyouya spoke up: "He took Tetsuo, sensei. We don't know if he killed him!"

Sakura' gaze turned icy. She bit her thumb and put it on the ground, yelling "Kuchyose no jutsu!"

Five large foxes appeared and she motioned to the teens to climb on their backs.

"He'll pay for that too. Get going!"

_If you killed my Tetsuo…_

The foxes jumped out of the tunnel, swerving out of the way of the numerous weapons that immediately were sprung at them. They didn't look back as they ran full speed to the village hidden in the leaves, leaving behind the furious kunoichi and the hiding Sannin.

As soon as the foxes were out of sight, Sakura called out to the Snake Sannin, enraged.

"Get out, you teme! Where is my student?"

"Right here," came the voice of the detested man.

He held Tetsuo against him like a shield, holding a kunai to the boy's neck.

"What have you done to him?" she hissed as she saw how limp the boy was.

"Oh, it's just a mild sedative. He can hear and see, but not move. That way, he'll see me injure you before I kill you and he'll be totally unable to help you in any way. That'll destroy him. Great, isn't it? You know, if you were less strong-willed, I would have settled for giving you a curse mark and corrupt you, but I don't think it'll work as well with you, so I have no choice but to kill you. I can't have an enemy as strong as you are alive."

She clenched her teeth, fighting not to let her temper get the best of her. She had to be careful with the snake.

"Let him go, you sadistic pedophile. It's me you want."

"Aaah, but if I did, you would not be docile, now would you? As it is, if you attack me, I'll use him as a shield, so you can't do anything. If you move, I kill him."

Sakura stayed silent for a long moment.

_Kuso! I had hoped I'd never have to do that again, but…_

She chuckled, the hollow sound resounding around them.

"If you kill him, you'll have nothing keeping you from my wrath as, just for your information…I can resurrect people from the dead."

Orochimaru's eyes widened and she slammed her hands on the ground, destroying the ground under his feet. He had to jump to avoid a hit and ran, forcing her to follow him. She was really pissed off and his attitude didn't do anything to improve her mood. He constantly sent some dangerous jutsu at her and she could only counter them with others of her own. At long last, he stopped at the edge of a cliff and dangled the teen in the air.

"If I let him go, he'll drown and you won't be able to get him back. That lake behind me is way too deep."

"Fucker!"

She evaded yet another attack, this time a flurry of wind blades which were probably poisoned, and lunged at him. He let Tetsuo drop, extending his head like a snake and managing to bite her on her already injured thigh. She bit off a scream as she plunged down after her students. Orochimaru's eyes widened. He had not expected her to jump off and was thus unable to stop himself from following her down. He retracted his head and saw her try to catch Tetsuo before the teen fell in the lake under them.

Sakura prepared herself for the collision with the great body of water and took a deep breath. As soon as she was in the dark depths, she swam deep to find her student. Panic seized her as she saw that he was not breathing and she yanked her porcelain mask to the side before ripping off the bandages hiding her face and pressing her lips to his. She pushed all the air in her lungs in his and, releasing the death hold she had on him, began swimming back to the surface. Her lungs burned as she forced her muscles to work without oxygen, knowing that if she did not reach the surface, Tetsuo was as good as dead. After what seemed an eternity, the light above her grew and she managed to pull herself out of the water, putting chakra to her hands to climb out of the water as though it was a ledge. As soon as she did, however, she sensed danger and used her body as a shield to protect Tetsuo. Thus, the blade that had been heading for his head, intending to cut it in two vertically, bit down deep in her shoulder. She cried out as it was removed, blood flowing heavily on her clothes, staining red her chest plate, and, shuddering, took several deep breaths to calm down, her body functioning on auto-pilot as she ducked several more swipes. Her left arm had been incapacitated, leaving her to grab Tetsuo under her right arm to secure him in place momentarily. As soon as she got a chance, she pushed him on her back and put her right hand and forearm under his buttocks to keep him in place.

"Why do you care so much about him? If you let him go, you could defend yourself," sneered Orochimaru.

"You wouldn't understand, but he's family. They all are," bit out the injured kunoichi.

The bite he had inflicted on her burned suddenly and she collapsed to one knee, feeling her body go numb.

"What the?!"

Orochimaru cackled evilly, a smirk growing on his pale face.

"That's the curse mark being activated. And that swipe on your shoulder? The blade was poisoned."

_Figures. Sneaky bastard._

As long as she stayed on water, she would be at a disadvantage, seeing as how she couldn't use either hand to form hand seals. Fortunately, she still had a few cards up her sleeve. She ran to the shore, feeling the Sannin follow her, and muttered: "Shukaku, now would be a good time for you to help me."

As soon as the words escaped her lips, the sand in her necklace began swirling rapidly, seemingly awakening, and trickled down to the sandy shore, mixing with the normal sand. Thus, as soon as Orochimaru put foot on the shore, the sand caught him, encasing him in a sand coffin that began crushing him slowly. Sakura, panting, watched in satisfaction as he was slowly crushed to death. Unfortunately, the Sannin had a last resort. Figuring the jutsu would end if she died, he threw a last volley of kunai, several of which caught her on the side as she was too numb to move fast enough to completely evade them. The kunai stuck out of her between her ribs and on her right arm, but she could not take them out for fear of incapacitating her right arm if she moved it, although she knew that running with them between her ribs would not only hurt like a bitch, but also damage some internal organs.

She looked at the grimacing man who gave her a bloody smirk.

"Heh. Those were…poisoned, too…You're…doomed…"

She heard a last satisfying crack and he went limp. At long last, he was dead. The sand retreated, leaving behind a carcass that was soon absorbed deep below the shore; the original sand returned to her necklace rapidly. She could almost feel Shukaku hum in appreciation of the blood she had provided, as though it was a delicious meal. Not waiting any longer, she took off as fast as possible for Konoha, hoping to get there in time.

The five young ninja had been greeted with concern when they arrived and were soon ushered to the hospital. However, their injuries were not lethal, and they were soon able to escape from their rooms and wait at the gates after giving Minato a thorough report. It was several hours later that they saw a silhouette appear at the edge of the forest at dawn and walk up to the village, the sun illuminating her form. They had to refrain from running up to the tired kunoichi and watched her go up to the guards, gasping when they saw the state she was in. Her ANBU mask was on the side of her head, the bandages usually hiding most of her face having disappeared, washed away by the lake. Blood was staining her uniform, making it darker and tainting the white arm guards and chest plate a unique shade of crimson they knew to be blood. Her white hair was red in places as well, sticking to her face in places because of her sweat. She was limping and they could see that a chakra-infused blade had cut into her chest plate. All in all, she looked like a mess. A victorious mess, but a mess nonetheless.

She walked up to the guards and let them take her student from her back.

"Take care of him, he's been poisoned with a paralyzing poison."

"Alright," said a guard as he helped the other one to secure the boy in his arms, "and you–"

There was a heavy thud. The guard turned around instantly, seeing that the woman was now unconscious on the ground and unmoving.

"Get her to the hospital, quick! I'll go ahead to warn the medics!" yelled the first guard.

"Warn the medics that we've got an ANBU down with critical, possibly lethal injuries! Quick, she was only standing out of sheer strength of will! Come on, we're losing her!" shouted back the other one, gesturing for a shinobi passing by to replace him.

The teenagers followed them anxiously.

**********

So, enough action for you guys? Because I feel in a good mood and you've complained about how unfair it was of me to leave you hanging with that cliffie, I've updated sooner. Happy? Now, time to make me satisfied: review!


	24. Escape from the Hospital

For those of you who think Sakura is almost killed every other chapter, here is the explanation: A) among normal ninja, she's very strong and skilled, but she's not the only one out there who's at her level (take Madara for example, or Minato) and B) it will be explained later on in the story, but she's basically a living paradox, and has no place in that time, so there are some circumstances that make her more of a liability (but as I said, that will be explained in a couple of chapters). Now that the boring part is done, on with the chapter! (Bear with me, I know the first part is not the best, but it can't be action all the time. I hope the ending makes up for it, though.)

* * *

The news had quickly been propagated that Sakura had killed Orochimaru and that the latter had kidnapped two teams of teenagers and experimented on children in his underground facility. Fortunately, Tetsuo had been healed rather rapidly, as the medic-nin already knew that the poison used on him was only a paralyzing one, thanks to Sakura. As thus, he'd soon been able to be released from the hospital and had waited with the rest of his team and Minato's in the corridor adjacent to the room in which Sakura had been ushered. The faces of the teens were withdrawn and their eyes were puffy. Rin was sobbing uncontrollably, clinging to Obito as he held her in his arms. Kakashi was stone-faced and Yuu, Tetsuo and Kyouya seemed to alternate between sadness and anger.

At one point, Minato came to see them and looked at Tetsuo with a mixture of sadness and pride.

"Tetsuo-kun," he began gently, "what happened exactly? Could you hear what Sakura-san and Orochimaru were saying? Anything could help."

Tetsuo shuddered and his team mates each put an arm around him to give him their strength.

"He kidnapped us to get to sensei. I…I was just a hostage so that she would not attack him. Because of that, she had to constantly defend herself, because she couldn't attack. He said he'd use me as a shield to protect him from her blows and jutsu and that he would kill me if she tried anything. She…I don't know if she was bluffing or anything, but she laughed–you know, a kind of painful laugh–and said that she could resurrect me."

Minato stilled at those words.

"Are you sure she said that?" he asked eagerly with a touch of dread.

"Hai, I'm positive. I was paralyzed, but I could hear everything, and sensei taught us to always use any advantage you could, so I remembered every word. Why, is it important?"

Minato was pensive for a moment and finally let out a deep breath.

"How would she have learned it? I, myself, have barely heard of it and I was not even sure it wasn't just a rumour…" he whispered.

The teens grouped around him.

"What? What is it?"

"Well, I thought it was just a rumour, but it seems that there is a technique in Suna that allows one to resurrect another person."

"But then, how come they don't use it?" asked Kakashi.

"For one, this technique is said to be known only by one person–I don't know who– and that the drawback is that the one who performs the technique will automatically die by using it. It's like an exchange of lives. Basically, if Sakura-san had used it to revive you, she would have given you her life. You'd have lived while she'd have died."

The group gasped in horror-filled comprehension.

"You…you mean she…no! She couldn't!" cried Obito.

"She could, and she would," whispered Tetsuo hollowly. "You weren't there. You didn't hear her. Her eyes…they were so fierce and determined…It was frightening…When I looked at her, I felt sure that she would never let me go, that she would do everything it took to get me back. It was amazing, really. That desperate determination…I can only hope to be like that one day…To think that she would go that far…"

He trailed off pensively, pride of his sensei blooming in his heart. Minato smiled gently.

"It seems like you finally accepted her as your sensei, ne?" he asked rhetorically.

At that, Tetsuo looked at him.

"She's not just a sensei; she's _family_," he said firmly, daring anyone to contradict him.

No one did.

It was hours later that the medics trailed out of the operation room. They all looked extenuated, but their faces did not have the sad countenance of those who despair because a patient is dead. They were immediately assaulted by the teenagers who began asking about Sakura. The head medic put his hand up in a silent command to shut up and let him speak, which they did, as impatient as they were.

"The patient suffered severe wounds in various places of her body, the most glaringly evident being the slice on her left shoulder. The swipe nearly cut through her heart, but it fortunately–or unfortunately, depending on how you wish to look at it–only nicked the arteries. This, of course, caused heavy internal bleeding that began crushing her internal organs, added to the fact that the kunai that slipped between her ribs grazed several internal organs too. Her left thigh muscles were partially torn and partially cut. She is low on chakra and it looks like she hasn't slept for days. She is extremely exhausted. I doubt that she'll wake up anytime soon, and even if she did, she'd need a lot of rest. The poison spread through her system very fast, but we managed to wash it out of her."

"Anything else?" asked Minato.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. It seems that Orochimaru put a cursed seal on her. Now that he's dead, I don't know whether it'll activate or not, but if it does…well, in the state she's in, she would die. One last thing…the chakra suppressor on her neck nearly killed her when we were operating. It began strangling her suddenly and we could do nothing to stop it. At the same time, several deep gashes appeared on her body. What the hell was that? That damn torture device could very well kill her! I'm telling you, if she doesn't have a strong will to live, she won't survive the next few days, possibly weeks."

Minato sighed. It seemed that he did a lot of sighing nowadays, he thought grimly.

"It activates on its own randomly, there's nothing we can do about it," he sighed. "Look, what I'm about to say is confidential. At one point, Sakura-san saved her team by staying behind to delay their enemies. The mission was accomplished successfully, but she was captured and held prisoner for seven months of torture and interrogation. It's during her months of captivity that the chakra suppressor was applied to her neck. Apparently, during her escape, the man who'd applied it to her either died or disappeared. Without him, she can't be free from the suppressor. Unless we find him–if he's still alive, that is–the suppressor will stay on her neck."

He looked at the desperate teenagers and tried to smile.

"Don't worry, ne? She hasn't died yet, so don't lose hope, just as she would not lose hope in you. She's one of the strongest people I know; let's count on that."

Sakura had been put in a bed, tubes nourishing her intravenously. The sun, entering by the window, fell upon her throughout the day, giving her an ethereal glow that made her hair shine. Her long mane was fanned out on the pillow and, without the various bandages covering her body, one could have thought that she was sleeping peacefully. Her face was pale, her long eyelashes resting against her cheeks. For the first time since she had given her eye to Kakashi, her left eye was uncovered, as it had begun crying tears of blood at some point. The medics did not know to what that phenomenon was due and had inspected her cavity, only to find that it seemed as though blood had solidified in it, forming a dark red, almost black orb that replaced her original eye. They had decided not to mess with it, because after examination, they had found it to be attached to her skull like a normal eye would be. Disrupting it would be putting her in danger. They thus had yet another question to ask her when–when, not "if", had insisted her students–she woke up.

Her room had been invaded by her friends who had had to be kicked out–literally–from it by the nurses. Now, they alternated between training and staying by her side. Her team, especially, seemed to be training harder than ever, crashing down in the hospital room when they needed rest. They were training in their own special areas to improve as much as possible and to make Sakura proud of them. They would _not_ be a handicapping liability to her again. The next time a fight went on, they would be able to defend themselves without having to count on her to save their hides. Therefore, they pushed themselves harder than ever before and improved a lot. The drawback was that they often were so tired that they just flopped down next to Sakura when they stopped by. The nurses eventually learned not to wake them up–not that it worked anyway– and to let them sleep next to their comatose sensei.

During that time, Orochimaru's secret underground facility had been found and the poor children on whom he had experimented had been freed. Most of them had spent a week or two at the hospital before being sent to the orphanage, but they had not mingled with the other children, being too scarred emotionally to get close to anyone. Most of them had tried a few times to escape from the orphanage.

Nearly a month went by before the unconscious kunoichi brutally opened her eyes and sat up in her bed, her hands putting pressure on her curse mark. She ground her teeth, hissing at the pain. She quickly threw the covers away, feeling her tender body that had not yet healed completely. She would have to get rid of the curse mark, but she could not do it in her hospital room. As soon as she put her feet on the floor, she felt masses of fur rubbing against her and looked down to see six pairs of eyes belonging to just as many foxes.

"What? I thought you would have gone back…" she murmured.

"No way, mistress! We stayed to keep an eye on you!" exclaimed one of them.

"We're so happy to have you back!" said another.

"Errr…Since when did you guys speak the human language?" she asked, surprised.

"We had plenty of time to learn, mistress! Narabi taught us and we listened to the humans visiting you to practice!"

"Okay…How much time was I out?" she asked as she took off the intravenous tubes from her arms.

"Almost a month, mistress."

"Kuso…"

She put her head in her left hand and closed her eye, sighing. When she opened her emerald orb, she took the black blindfold from the bedside table and tied it around her head, hiding her left eye from view. She then went to the door and peeked outside to see if the coast was clear. She looked back at the silent foxes for a moment.

"Okay, you guys, I gotta leave now. Thanks for staying with me. See you later!"

With that said, she sneakily went out of the room and disappeared in the corridor. The halls were blissfully empty and she thought she would make it when her students appeared at the other end of the corridor, unfortunately accompanied by a beefy nurse who took one look at her and yelled at her to stop immediately.

_Oh, kuso._

She took off at a run in the other direction, grabbing a wheeled pole alike the ones on which bags full of saline solutions could be suspended to nourish people like her intravenously. The wheels rolled along and, using her momentum, she put her feet on the bars attached to them and clenched a hand around the pole, using the device like a skateboard and leaving behind four gaping people. It did not last long, however, as the nurse spluttered and began running after her.

"Stop, I'm telling you!" came the thunderous voice.

"No way, I'm not crazy!" she yelled back. "Sorry, guys, I've got things to do, but I'll see you in an hour! Do remember my name!"

Yuu, Kyouya and Tetsuo looked at one another bemusedly, observing their sensei escaping the clutches of several other nurses, the huge one still running behind her.

"You think she'll be alright?" asked Yuu, sweat-dropping as she rounded a corner and disappeared from view.

"Yeah, don't worry. Let's just go to the meeting point, ne?" said Kyouya calmly.

"Gah! Don't act so calm, I know you were just as worried about sensei as we were!" exclaimed Tetsuo as he trailed behind the other two, irked that Kyouya was so impassive.

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Come on, reviews, reviews! Oh, are those reviews I see coming? Great! Give'em to me!! Hehehe! (Author becomes crazy and is taken away by psychiatrists) and just for your info, that thing Sakura does with the wheeled pole is possible, I did it once when I was hospitalized. Along with nurses running after me. Yeah…hehe.


	25. The Tree that Wasn't

Sakura had eventually managed to get rid of her stalkers–nurses, she recalled they were called–and had disappeared from the hospital, leaving behind naught but a flurry of sakura petals.

As she ran, she could feel the curse mark burning and cringed. It would have to go. Damn that Orochimaru! Even dead, he continued to make her life hell!

Spotting a park not far from her current location, and seeing that it had enough trees to conceal her for a while, she jumped down from her perch at the top of a house where she had stopped to clutch her thigh.

Fortunately for her, the group of trees was large enough to hide her from the children running around in the playground. Their enthusiasm made her smile softly as she remembered a time when she had been innocent too. She sat down on the ground and rolled her pants leg up to reveal the loathed curse mark.

Looking at it, she tsked and clucked her tongue gently. This was really so annoying, as a certain friend of hers would say. Well, no time like the present to get rid of the problem. The seal had Orochimaru's influence in it and would only be broken by someone stronger than him, which meant she had a fight on her hands. She only hoped that she had enough strength in her at the moment to do it.

Her mind set, she pushed chakra to her fingertips and pressed the chakra scalpels to her skin, cutting exactly at the edges of the seal that began pulsating while pouring great amounts of chakra around the seal to keep it confined to one spot and stop tainting her body. Sweat appeared on her forehead as she continued to cut her thigh, fighting against the seal and gritting her teeth. Eventually, she managed to carve the curse mark out of her skin and released her breath. Doing it without anaesthesia had hurt like hell, but she had gotten through worse. She just had to wrap bandages around her bleeding member and wait for it to heal or tough it out and return to the hospital to get healed. She shuddered at the thought. Maybe her students had practiced enough to regrow the skin.

Settling back against the tree, she wiped her brow, observing the black blindfold she had wrapped around her thigh, feeling almost naked now that nothing was covering her left eye. She closed her eye and relaxed.

Suddenly, she felt a delicate touch to her thigh. She nearly hissed, but the touch was barely there and thus did not put enough pressure on the wound to actually hurt her. She opened her eye and gaped, seeing only a small tree next to her. However, she was sure there had not been any tree there before and one of its branches was curiously stretched out enough for a single leaf to touch her injured thigh.

Her head swam.

_It couldn't be…could it? But I don't know of any other Mokuton users…_

She gulped and tried to calm down her excited mind, easing her frayed nerves slowly but surely.

"Tenzou-kun?" she murmured softly.

The tree bristled and shuddered, but otherwise didn't move. If she had to guess, she would say that it tensed.

"You have nothing to fear from me," she continued. "Look, I'll even close my eye, okay?"

For a few long, agonizing moments, nothing happened. Then, she felt the air change and a timid, gentle touch on her left eyelid startled her. Her right eye opened on its own accord and she came face to face with a childish face, warm brown eyes looking at her curiously behind chocolate bangs. The child immediately became a tree once again.

"Sorry," she chuckled. "You just surprised me."

Sakura once again closed her eye, only to hear a little voice speak to her.

"What happened to your eye?"

"Aah, that. I gave it up for a friend," she said gently, smiling. "Is there anything else you'd like to ask me?"

There was a moment of silence, then: "The thing you did to get rid of your curse mark…Could you…Could you do it to me?"

The white-haired woman smiled gently and nodded.

"Tenzou-kun, can I open my eye now?"

"Hai, I…I don't mind. You're a nice onee-san," came the soft and timid voice.

Once again, she saw the cute child in front of her and felt a bout of nostalgia.

"I promise it won't hurt, alright? I'll put you to sleep during the process. When you wake up, you'll be rid of the seal, okay?" she offered.

The little boy nodded slowly with a bit of hesitation.

A green haze surrounded Sakura's hands and she didn't waste any time in putting them on Tenzou's temples. Immediately, the boy's eyes fluttered close and he fell asleep in Sakura's arms. She hugged him to her bosom for a moment, enjoying the contact with a familiar face, even though in this time, they had just met and he had no idea of who she was. This time, the process was much faster and easier, as she could actually use her medical chakra to work on the seal, meaning she could also heal Tenzou. She also didn't feel the pain of the seal fighting against her, which was a bonus. Pouring steadily chakra in the seal, she managed to dissolve it completely rather rapidly. As soon as she was done wiping the blood from his pale flesh, she woke him up. He looked around him before staring at her inquisitively.

"It's done," said Sakura.

A large smile bloomed on his face and he latched onto her neck, squeezing it tightly. With a smile of her own, Sakura hugged him and patted him on the back.

"Why don't you go play with the others, now?" suggested the kunoichi with a warm smile.

She felt him shake his head against her neck and frowned.

"Why not?" she asked.

"They think I'm strange and if I go, the adults of the orphanage will find me and get me back," came the muffled answer.

"Why don't you want to go back? Aren't they nice to you?" wondered Sakura aloud.

"They don't want us–the other "experiments" and me– to go near the other kids, 'cause sometimes, we lose control over our "techniques" and they don't want us to hurt the others. It's not our fault, really, but when we do lose control, they beat us and say we're just monsters! It's not fair and I don't want to go back to them!"

Sakura tensed, feeling anger wash over her. So those bastards picked on poor kids? Looking back at how they had treated Naruto in her time, she really shouldn't have been surprised, she thought. She forced herself to calm down when she sensed Tenzou becoming afraid and tensing too in reaction to her anger.

"I won't let them do that. I promise. How many of you are there?"

"Hm…we're…only six…all the others died when the seals activated. They couldn't stay in control and were either killed or died because of the transformations."

"Only six…" mused Sakura. "I may have a suggestion, Tenzou-kun…"

The director of the orphanage was quite surprised to see a quite irate white-haired kunoichi appear in his office, one of his most elusive inmates clinging to her pants leg. The portly man looked at her scantily clad form lecherously before she slammed her hand down on his desk, cracking it ominously even without the use of chakra.

"My face is up here, jackass," she hissed dangerously.

He gulped nervously.

"Is…is there anything I can do for you? If that brat offended you, I'm most sorry and will make sure he gets punished accordingly," he said, grasping at straws to appease her.

At that comment, Sakura's eye flashed angrily.

"_No one_ will be punished, am I making myself clear? This child is now under my protection, as are the half-a-dozen alike him. I just wanted to tell you before I took them off your hands."

"I…I understand, but…We have plenty of children here, so why would you want those brats? They are violent and can't be contained. They are a danger to everyone around them. Wouldn't you rather have a nice little girl or boy?"

"My decision is not up for discussion. I'm taking them now, and that's final."

She turned around and stalked to the door where she stopped, a hand on the handle, and looked at him over her shoulder.

"One last thing: I'm not paying for them. I'll send the paperwork later."

The director was left spluttering in his office.

Sakura let Tenzou guide her to the courtyard of the orphanage and asked him to gather the others and bring them to her. While he went to a group of quiet children, she observed the children, noting that most of the other kids avoided them like the plague and frowned. They approached her cautiously, looking like hunted animals, and seemed surprised when she smiled at them genuinely. Judging by their old and dirty clothes, not many people must have bothered to give them care and attention, much less love.

Of the five children, only one did she recognize. She was one who seemed stronger than most of the others, mainly due to the fact that while she had a curse mark, she was not an experiment, per se. She looked at Sakura with defiance in her suspicious eyes.

"Why would you want us? People say we're monsters. What says you're not like them?" asked the girl with narrowed eyes.

"Simply the fact that I, too, could be called a monster and that some of my old friends were brought up as monsters and alienated, Anko-chan. I don't want anyone ever growing up thinking that's what they are. If you're willing to give me a chance, I could get rid of your curse marks and give you a home and the love you all deserve. I won't force you. If you don't want to, you can stay here."

The children looked uncertain. She let them converse between themselves for a while, observing that Anko seemed to be the one who was the most protective of the only other girl of the group, a cute four years-old who was very timid. Eventually, the group as a whole came to a conclusion.

"Alright," said Anko, "we'll try. We'll give you a chance, but I'm warning you: if you try anything, if you try to hurt us, I'll personally kick your ass."

"Deal," said a smiling Sakura. "Now, let me make those curse marks disappear."

Yuu, Tetsuo and Kyouya had quickly understood that their sensei had given them a code place to meet her at. It had not taken them long to deduce that it must be somewhere with sakura trees. They had thus gone to the only training grounds that were bordered by sakura trees and had awaited her. Eventually, the hour had been up and the famous white-haired woman had not yet shown up. Tetsuo and Yuu wondered if they were at the right place, but Yuu was quickly convinced by Kyouya that their sensei must simply be running a little late, which could be normal, they reflected, thinking back on the number of nurses running after Sakura at the hospital.

"How late do you think she'll be?" asked Yuu idly while Tetsuo walked back and forth between two trees.

"I'd say an hour at the most. She just has to stop playing with them and get serious, I guess," answered Kyouya while moving a piece on their game of shogi.

"Gah! How can you guys play at a time like this?!" exclaimed Tetsuo. "Aren't you worried?"

Kyouya looked at him, an eyebrow raised.

"Are you kidding? She's freakishly strong, she won't be hurt by some nurses! Besides, she managed to take down a Sannin and survive to tell about it. Doesn't it make you confident that nothing could happen to her now?" said Yuu.

"It should appease you to know she's awake and well, no?" added Kyouya. "I don't think she could anything to surprise me more."

Apparently, he had spoken too soon, for when Sakura showed up, six children trailing behind her timidly and curiously, and announced that their next mission–a D-rank, at that– was to go shopping for them, Kyouya almost felt his jaw unhinge.

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Introducing Tenzou and Anko! A warm applause for them, please. And now, reviews for me! Come on, it's easy: just click on the little button down below and tell me what you think of this story.


	26. Tales of Love and War

Hey guys, I'm posting this now because tomorrow, I'll probably be too hung over to think about it, so enjoy!

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As it was, Minato refused to give Sakura any mission to get out of the village for a while due to her still healing injuries. She thus had to recover slowly, alternating between training with her team and Minato's, doing missions inside the village and taking care of her six new protégés. She did not like to stay confined in the village, but she had so much to do that time went by quickly. Minato had been astounded at her efficiency when she had helped him do his paperwork on a stormy day. Of course, having been the Hokage's apprentice for years and basically doing her job because the Godaime was too drunk and/or too lazy to do it herself had helped her hone her skills in that aspect. She was thus so efficient that for the first time in a long while, the Hokage's desk was finally empty from the usual scrolls and diverse papers that usually lay there.

She had also spent some time at the hospital, teaching other medic-nin how to heal certain dangerous wounds and basically healing patient after patient until she collapsed from fatigue. She was now known among medics as a kick-ass teacher who was expecting nothing less than perfection from everyone and would use the necessary means to insure it. A few fellow medics had cracked under the pressure; most of them looked at her in admiration of her skills.

One day, as her team and Minato's were sparring together, an argument erupted between Obito and Kakashi. Rin tried her best to stop the argument, but it did not do much good. She turned a pleading gaze to her teacher who was currently sitting in a tree, Sakura on a branch next to him. Without lifting her eyes from her infamous orange book, Sakura elbowed Minato in the ribs. Said man rubbed his painful side and looked at her accusingly.

"Itai! What was that for?!" he exclaimed before continuing with a puppy face: "It's really painful, you know."

"Though it up, and just for the record, those puppy eyes won't work on me. Your students are fighting."

"That's what they're supposed to be doing," replied Minato slowly, as though she were stupid.

"Not _that_ kind of fighting," she sharply said, making the blond groan.

"Not agaaaaaaain…" he whined, false tears running across his cheeks. "Guys! Break it up! Return to your training!" he called loudly.

Cries of protest erupted loudly in response.

"Forget it, they could go at it for a while. Better see what's the problem and try to resolve it yourself," suggested Sakura, flipping a page lazily, a leg swinging back and forth under her.

Minato sighed and called them over. The two teachers jumped to the ground, Sakura still reading, and Minato asked his two male team members what had caused a brawl that time.

"We don't agree on love," stated Obito matter-of-factly.

Immediately, Sakura tensed and her fingers clenched on her book. Minato turned to her, a pleading expression on his face.

"Sakura-san, could you please help them?"

"Iie."

The response was so flat and cold that it surprised everyone.

"Why not? You're a woman and women are better at this than men. Just relate it to your own love life, I don't know!"

"No way, why don't you?" she retorted, snapping her book shut angrily. "After all, you're a future father, surely you know much about that."

"I…That's…I couldn't…" he trailed off. "Anyway, it's an order from your Hokage!"

With that said, he disappeared in a yellow flash, leaving behind an irate kunoichi and six curious students.

"Damn that bastard…I'll fry his ass when I find him," she muttered darkly.

She stalked to the tree she had been sitting in previously and sat down back to the trunk, motioning for them to sit down with an impatient wave of her hand.

"What was the issue? Tell me quickly, so we can get this over with."

Obito fidgeted and Kakashi turned his head away. In the end, it was Rin who summoned her courage and spoke for both of them.

"Er…Kakashi-kun didn't agree with Obito-kun that loving a teammate is alright," she said with a blush.

"It would only distract you and put the rest of the team in danger, as well as jeopardize the mission," stated Kakashi matter-of-factly.

"Not true!" yelled Obito.

"Enough!" yelled Sakura, seeing that the dispute was going to begin once again. She pinched her nose, closing her eye tiredly.

_Why me? Kami, what have I done to earn this?_

"Sakura-san…what's your opinion?" asked Rin timidly.

"I see nothing wrong against loving a team mate, as long as it doesn't affect your behaviour or the efficiency of the team. If it does, it would be better for the team members to be assigned to different teams."

"Sensei, were you ever in love with a team mate?" asked Kyouya, having a rough idea as to why Sakura was so reluctant in sharing her thoughts on the matter at hand.

At the question, everyone perked up, looking at Sakura intently.

"Hai, I was. I was around your age, too. He was the "dark and mysterious" handsome time of guy. Everything I did was to impress him. You could say I was a fan girl back then. I was so weak it was pathetic, too."

"I can't believe it!" exclaimed Tetsuo. "Not you, sensei!"

"Better believe it, kiddo, 'cause that's the truth," said the white-haired woman wryly.

"Ne, Sakura-san…What happened to the two of you?" asked Rin.

_The wind was blowing, making the five ANBU's hair flutter in their faces._

"_Alright," said the captain. "They should be around here, so be on your guards. I don't want any losses on our side. Protect our medic at any costs, understand?She'll be the one to save our asses if we go down during the fight."_

"_Hai, taichou!"_

"_Then let's go. It shouldn't be worse than usual."_

_How wrong he'd been. Their unknown enemies had taken them by surprise, managing to land a few hits. Soon, the team had been forced to disperse to fight one-on-one. There were no words to describe the carnage that had happened then. Blood had made pools on the mossy ground, blood that shouldn't have been spilled. Her team mates were some of the best there were, but so were their opponents. She helped Dragon finish an assailant and spared some of her chakra to heal his broken ribs, but he waved her off before she could attempt to touch his other wounds, saying that she should conserve her energy for later. It was not long before all of their enemies, or so they thought, went down and they collapsed next to them, panting heavily. At that moment, an all-too-recognizable man had appeared, a smirk etched onto his handsome face. As hurt as he was, her captain fought with him, ordering her to heal the others, which she did with dread. Tiger was spitting blood and smiled at her weakly when she got his mask off to let him breathe._

"…_Didn't think I'd end that way," he coughed._

"_Shut up! I won't let you die that easily! You've come to me in bad shape before at the hospital and I've patched you up, so what makes you think I won't be able to do it this time?!"_

_In the end, she had managed to heal him enough so that he wouldn't be on the brink of death before going to Eagle. At that moment, she had heard a loud yell of pain and looked up just in time to see a blade go through her captain's chest, blowing a whole in it in the process. She didn't hear herself yell, but she ran full speed at her captain's murderer in a rage, her fists enclosed in a dangerous blue light._

_She jumped over the body that slumped to the floor and slammed her hand on the blade the hated man put up in front of him to parry. It broke in two, absorbing some of the impact, but not enough to keep her from punching him through several trees. She knew that she was crying, yet she didn't care. Of all the members of her team, she was the only one not incapacitated and this was personal._

_Her fingers flew so fast through hand signs that the volleys of jutsu she sent flying at her enemy came at him too fast for him to counter or evade them all. He shunshined away from her last attack, intent on catching her behind by surprise, when she disappeared and a flying kick broke most of his ribs, sending him plummeting to the ground, where he gasped in pain. She loomed over him and took off her mask, revealing her face to him._

_His eyes widened as he recognized her._

"_That was for Naruto."_

"_Sa–" he gurgled before he was cut off._

"_Surprised that you got beaten by the crybaby, the _weak_ girl?"_

"_You–"_

"_This is for my taichou, teme!"she spat._

_The last thing he would ever see was her blade slicing toward him._

_She turned away from the still warm corpse._

"_Goodbye, Sasuke."_

_Her captain was still alive, but barely, when she went to him. He looked at her with pride and shook his head when she began trying to heal him._

"_Don't. You…don't have enough……chakra left."_

"_I do! Just…"_

"_Iie. Return to Konoha with the others…as soon…as…possible…The mission…"_

_She hung her head._

"_Hai, taichou."_

"_You'll be…the next taichou."_

"_Taichou, I can't! I'm too young! And you won't die anyway! I'll bring you back to Konoha in time!"she protested._

_She had bandaged his wounds as best as possible in so little time, then rushed to seal the bodies of their dead enemies in a scroll and put her mostly-incapacitated team mates on her shoulders. In any other situation, it would have been funny to see such a slender girl carry two grown men over each shoulder like they weighed nothing, but the situation was dire. Even aided by her chakra and enhancing her speed and strength as much as she could, she did not make it to Konoha until midday the next day in a state of severe mental, physical and chakra exhaustion. She collapsed as soon as she stepped through the hospital's doors. Her team mates healed soon enough thanks to the work she had already done on them, but her taichou did not survive his injuries. The loss cemented even more their group. From then on, she became an ANBU captain, one of the youngest ones there were, and one of the fiercest ones when it came to the safety of her team, on par with Morino Ibiki when it came to sadism toward any enemy who injured her team mates._

Sakura opened her eye.

"I killed him," she said flatly.

The six teens gaped.

"He became a nuke-nin and I was sent with my team after several ninja. I did not know he was a part of them until he appeared and engaged my taichou in a fight and killed him. I fought with him in a somewhat…_irate_ state. After I killed him, I tried to heal my taichou, but he ordered me to go back to Konoha, so I did, carrying him and my other team mates all the way without stopping to rest. My taichou died that day, not long after I got him to the hospital. He had appointed me as his replacement, so I became my team's taichou after him."

She had gotten up and was looking distantly at the slowly dying sun, lost in her painful memories.

"The boy I had loved turned into a man I hated and had to kill. Love can change suddenly, as can people, especially at your age. He was not much older than you when he deserted the village, you see. Anyway, the past is the past. Not all love stories turn tragic. I maintain what I said: if you can stay professional with the one you love on your team, then there's no problem. That will be all for today."

She left behind a flurry of sakura petals as she disappeared. Rin sighed sadly.

"Maybe we shouldn't have pried."

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Now you know what happened to Sasuke and why I won't make Sakura end up with him. And so, Sakura's past slowly unravels. Reviews make me update faster!

Itai: ouch


	27. The Leaf in the Desert

Okay, I'm only posting this now because I'm in a really good mood and I've received many reviews. And because I'm all excited because I'm writing the encounter with Kyuubi! I love that guy. Anyway, enjoy, okay?

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Sakura stormed to the Hokage tower and nearly blasted the door open. She slammed her hands on the desk, thoroughly frightening the Yondaime who cowered at her irate countenance.

"I need to get out. Now. Give me any mission, I don't care which, as long as I can get out of here."

Minato gulped. When she was like that, she looked amazingly alike Kushina, who, due to the hormones of a pregnant woman, tended to be bipolar nowadays. He had quickly learned it was not a good idea to antagonize her.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea in your state…"

"Don't you patronize me!" she growled, eyes flashing angrily.

"The kids…are you really willing to leave them alone?"

"Jiraiya came back, he can take care of them for a while, and they're not babies anymore. Stop stalling and dilly-dallying around. Give. Me. A. Mission! You owe me one, anyway."

Minato hesitated a moment before giving in and giving her a scroll which she snatched from him greedily. She scanned it quickly and nodded sharply before disappearing. Only then did the Hokage relax.

_She's something else, that woman._

Sakura stopped by her apartment only long enough to get her things and say a quick goodbye to the children before leaving. She was tense and it didn't improve her mood any. She had calculated that it was two months ago that she changed into her demonic self in a valley, which meant that she was long due to return there. Kyuubi had warned her not to skip a month, but she didn't have a choice and now, she felt that she would pay. If the pain last time had been great, it would be enormous this time, she was convinced of it.

Panting hard in the same valley as before, laying on her flank, Sakura mused that her life was really fucked up. She did not want to have to remember her past; it was best left buried.

She prowled around for a while in the melting snow, once again not realizing that a young man, high in the mountains in his hut, had seen her beastly form.

She then accomplished her mission, which was to ambush and kill an Iwa courier, and could now go back to Konoha. However, she had had to follow the man into Wind country to see where the hiding place for the documents he was carrying was. During the whole journey, she had neither slept nor eaten in fear of losing sight of her skilled target. In the end, she had taken his scroll and left a false one in its stead, one that contained enough misleading information that Konoha could plan an ambush and take out a good portion of the Iwa forces. Unfortunately, in this time and age, Konoha was not on great terms with Suna, which meant that if she was found, she would have to fight Suna ninja or run away from them, neither of which really appealed to her.

As luck would have it, she had been forced a long way into Suna's desert while following the Iwa courier and now had quite a trek ahead of her to return to Konoha. She would have gone to Suna undercover to get Kyouya the puppet she had promised him–as good as hers was, she knew he would want his own–but her mission had taken her enough time already and she had to get her scroll back to Konoha as soon as possible for it to be of as much use as possible.

She had not gone very far when she spotted something hiding behind a dune. When she turned her head in its direction, it quickly ducked out of sight, making her frown. Could it be an enemy? If it was, he or she was not very skilled in hiding. Twirling a kunai, she quickly appeared behind the dune and put the sharp blade under a little girl's chin. The shock made her freeze, whereas the girl tensed in fear.

_No way, that's too crazy!_

She quickly let go of the kunai and stepped back, surprise still firmly anchored in her. The girl couldn't have been older than five and was looking at her with bright blue eyes. Her blond hair was tucked into four ponytails and she had the same face, although a younger one, as she had in the future. The same defiant spark already existed in her eyes.

_Temari…_

"What the…What are you doing here, kiddo? You're pretty far from Suna."

"That's 'cause I ran away from Baki-sensei. He wouldn't let me have fun and I wanted to get out of the village! And I'm no kiddo! And I shouldn't talk to you, Baki-sensei said not to go near ninja and to not speak to strangers!" pouted the future Suna kunoichi.

"Then let's make this an exception, ne? I'm Shadow Fox."

The child observed her for a moment, looking at her masked face. Smiling, Sakura pushed it aside. Temari stretched out a hand to touch her face and told her who she was, after which Sakura got up from where she had crouched to be face-to-face with the little girl.

"Come on, let's get you back to Suna, alright? People must be wondering where you are."

"I…I don't know the way back. I got lost…" muttered Temari, fidgeting.

"Don't worry, I'll get you back. I know how to return to Suna."

"Thanks, pretty lady! You're a nice lady!" grinned the child toothily.

"Hai, hai, now climb on my back, I'm gonna give you a piggy-back ride, okay?"

"Yay!" cheered Temari.

Sakura then began running in the direction of Suna, wondering silently why such things always happened to her. Now, how to get Temari back safely without getting in danger?

As it was, she did not have much choice in the matter: a group of Iwa nin suddenly appeared in front of her, cutting off her path.

_Kuso! I guess I'll have to fight._

"Hang on, Temari-chan!" she said as she ducked to evade a series of senbon sent her way.

After sending a fire jutsu, she quickly summoned a fox and gave it her scroll with orders to get it back to Konoha as soon as possible and to not look back. She did not watch the fox streak across the sand dunes, knowing it would do as she had ordered it to, and jumped back into the fight. She could feel the hot weather and fatigue get to her, as she had not been able to get any rest when following the Iwa courier. Her vision occasionally got blurry, but she paid it no mind, concentrating on the fight. However, when she thought there were only two shinobi left, another group appeared suddenly. Having Temari on her back was a great handicap and, tired as she was, she could feel that she was not as sharp as she could be.

"Temari-chan," she said while dodging weapons and jutsu alike, "I'm going to send you away, alright? I'll send you–whoa–far from here in the direction of Suna. You think you could get there safely?"

"Hai! But what about you?" asked the frightened child.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

_Just a little white lie…_

She whispered to Shukaku and a whirlwind of sand suddenly made its apparition, grabbing Temari and hiding her in the ground while traveling in the direction of the Sand village. Eventually, it let the child surface and disappeared, leaving Temari not far from where Suna ANBU patrolled regularly.

As soon as the girl was gone, Sakura stopped being on the defensive and rushed at her opponents. She twirled and threw a group of senbon at her enemies. Some of them were deflected or missed, but a few of them caught the unfortunate ninja and sank in their flesh. She then sent several fire and wind jutsu at them.

The sand dunes were littered with corpses, yet still Sakura didn't stop fighting. She could sense, in the back of her head, that she was starting to get an insulation; that much was clear to a medic-nin such as her.

The men were almost all dead when she began to cough up blood loudly and swayed on her feet.

_Not now…_she thought.

"_My guess would be that you are a Time demon, mistress," said Narabi, lounging on her bed._

"_Why would you say that?" she asked, turning around to look at the lazy fox._

"_You can use time-related jutsu, which not many, if any, can do. You came to this time by one of them, too, ne?"_

"_Hai, but that was an accident."_

"_Let me finish, please. I think that if you tried to trust your instincts, you would discover time-related abilities and jutsu. Though I must warn you: everything has a price. Once you are born in this era, you will create a paradox, because your younger self will never become yourself and go to the past. Do you understand?"_

"_Hai, I do."_

"_Once you are born, you will stop existing. Now, as you are a Time demon, you may be able to prevent that for a while, but unless something anchors you to this era firmly, you will eventually disappear. It will be painful. Your body will shut down on its own; you may bleed internally, lose some of your senses, I don't know, but it won't be pretty."_

_A moment of silence, then: "What will be, will be. As long as I can accomplish what I have to before then, I won't oppose my destiny."_

Had it already begun? She coughed again and felt a blade being plunged in her gut. Looking down, she saw that her fingers, which had clutched her stomach, were now red.

_Kuso! I can't die like this!_

Her hand shot up, grasping the same blade that was swinging down at her to cut her head off. Blood ran down her arm from her cut palm. With a kick to the head, she broke her enemy's neck, then slowly and sluggishly fell to the ground, closing her eye.

As soon as she fell to the ground and her blood seeped into the sand, a strange thing happened. The sand around her began to glow an unnaturally bright white light. It surrounded her in a tornado and encased the Iwa nin, crushing them to death.

Temari had quickly run into a group of patrolling ANBU and had explained to them what had happened in fright and excitement. They thus ran back with her to the site of the fight to get rid of the intruding ninja, just in time to see Sakura go down. A large tornado appeared and the ninja were killed in front of them, just before the sand agglomerated next to Sakura's immobile body and they heard a whisper on the wind that said: "Take care of her. I'll know if you don't."

Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the strange mound of sand disappeared, leaving behind only a still figure in the sand.

The ANBU disposed quickly of the bodies and took the unconscious white-haired kunoichi back to Suna for interrogation.

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To be frank, I had not expected to put Temari in this fic, but this chapter pretty much wrote itself out, so…yeah. Anyway, review, please! I want to know what you think!


	28. She Who Tamed the Desert

Hey, guys, this time Sakura was just really exhausted, so stop thinking she'll die!

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"Otou-san, I swear she's nice! Let me see the nice lady!"

_Such a pounding headache…_

"Otou-san!"

_Someone please make that child shut up…_

A spike of pain in the head.

"I want to see her!"

A disgruntled groan of pain.

"She _saved_ me, after all!"

Her eye slowly opened. Even though she could feel there was light around her–the warm rays of the sun were heating her body–she could not see it. That, more than anything, told her that something was wrong. _Very_ wrong. She tried to put a hand to her head, only to find that she had been handcuffed to the bed.

_Figures._

"She's coming to!"

She heard a door open, then a squeal and something jumped on her bed, tackling her. She let out a hiss of pain as she felt her wounds being put pressure on.

"Pretty lady! Are you alright?" asked the childish voice she recognized as belonging to Temari.

"I've seen better days, but I'll live," she answered, felling like something had died in her mouth.

A cold voice resounded in the room.

"Temari. Come here."

"Hai, otou-san."

The little girl left Sakura's side and conversed with her father in a low tone. Sakura heard a whine, then the door opened and closed once again.

"Now. We are alone," said the same cold voice she had come to identify as the present Kazekage's. "Even though I thank you for saving my daughter, I cannot release you. You are a Konoha kunoichi, an enemy. What were you doing in our territory?"

"I cannot tell you. The only thing I _can_ say is that it had nothing to do with Sunagakure or Temari-chan," she answered calmly, if not exhaustedly.

Both of them stayed silent for a long moment, tension mounting.

"I cannot accept that answer. I hope your village wants you back and is willing to negotiate your release, because if not…well, you can imagine the rest. Your mask has already been sent."

The Kazekage then swept out of the room. Sakura sighed. At least he hadn't figured out that she was currently blind. Unfortunately, if what he had said was true, Minato would have to trade to get her back. She could not allow it.

_Kuso! I wish there was a strong alliance between Suna and Konoha like in my time…What to do?_

The first thing to do was to get a message to Konoha to warn Minato not to give in. Then, she had to escape. She thanked her luck that she had had the thought to put an impregnable jutsu on her face to blur it to anyone who didn't know her when she stepped out of Fire country. At least, her identity would not be disclosed. Still, Minato would know it was her.

Trying to get out of the handcuffs, she hissed when her contortions opened her wounds once again. She could feel blood seeping through the bandages and growled. Her wrists were bloody and torn, but she didn't stop pulling. Even though the handcuffs were made of solid material, they could not last long against her chakra-enhanced strength. Ah, the wonders of being underestimated! Soon enough, she rubbed the angry marks on her wrists, swearing under her breath as she tried to think of the best way to escape with her handicapping blindness.

Time to get her ANBU techniques out of the closet.

She concentrated and laced her voice with chakra, murmuring her report of the situation and stating that she would escape by her owns means. Once she was finished, she felt a slight breeze around her and smiled. The wind would carry her message to the Hokage's ears.

_Ha! I guess you didn't expect me to be a wind-whisperer, eh?_

She put a henge on her whole body, making it appear like she was the young red-haired girl she had once shown to Minato's team members. It was then rather easy to shunshin out of the room and reappear in an alley. Once there, all she had to do was mingle with the rest of the villagers.

She had closed her eyes, as she couldn't see anyway, and had asked for help in finding a particular weapons shop. Fortunately for her, a middle-aged man had taken pity upon her and had directed her there himself before going on his way.

"May I help you?" asked the shopkeeper.

"Hai, I'm looking for a puppet. I have an acquaintance who's good at manipulating them with chakra strings, but he needs a new one, so I was thinking of giving one to him as a gift."

"I see. Wait a moment, please."

It did not take long for the man to come back with a puppet. Though blind, Sakura examined the quite lethal wooden weapon with her fingers and frowned.

"Don't you have a better one?"

That question was asked a few times until the shopkeeper brought her a puppet she was finally satisfied with. It represented a dark-haired man wearing cream-colored clothes and she was confident that Kyouya would be able to use it without any problem, having already been used to her own. Quite happy now, she looked at the shopkeeper and smiled at him.

"I don't have any money on me, but the Kazekage will pay you double its price if you tell him you've seen a fox in your shop. Ja ne!"

With a chuckle, she disappeared, leaving behind a befuddled man who could only do as she had said. Let's just say that the Kazekage wasn't a happy man.

Sakura had shunshined as far as she could to get out of the village. Unfortunately, it still wasn't far enough. It so happened that there was a group of patrolling ninja nearby and that they saw her appear out of nowhere. They quickly alerted their superiors, describing the kunoichi who had let go of the henge to conserve her energy.

Minato was sitting at his desk when a stressed kunoichi entered his office. He recognized her as being one of the ANBU currently patrolling the border.

"What is it?"

"Hokage-sama, I was patrolling with my team when we found this," she said respectfully, stretching her arm to show him a blood-splattered porcelain mask he knew only too well. "It was pinned right on our path with a scroll," she added, giving him the scroll that was, thankfully, devoid of blood.

Minato didn't waste any time reading it, only to grind his teeth when he finished. He threw it across the room, clenching his fists.

"KUSO!"

He paced, enraged and worried, pondering how he should answer to the Kazekage's message. How had he managed to capture Sakura in the first place? Apparently, the Kazekage didn't know it was her, which meant she still had a chance. She was too precious to Konoha to be lost, and he was sure she would be executed if Suna knew who she really was. He should have known, when he had received Sakura's mission report from one of her foxes, that everything was not well.

He was just about to call for an ANBU team when he felt a breeze against his neck and heard Sakura's voice whisper in his ear a message that appeased him somewhat. He hesitated between complying with the Kazekage's ultimatum and listening to Sakura's promise that she would make it back on her own safely. The part he didn't understand, though, was why she said in her message that no place else than in Suna's desert would she have as much of an advantage over enemies. After all, Suna ninja were trained to use sand-based jutsu, so how could she possibly turn their advantage over?

In the end, he ordered the ANBU kunoichi to return to the border with reinforcements and to wait for Sakura. He hoped she would be right and would not give him one more person to mourn.

Sakura had felt the various ninja appearing around her, but had paid them no mind. She had simply walked away slowly, never deviating from the direction she knew Konoha was in. Behind her, the Suna ninja prepared their sand-based jutsu, which didn't work, to their greatest surprise. They tried again and again, but to no avail. It was as though the desert had decided to keep them from hurting the Konoha kunoichi. In the end, they resorted to using kunai, shuriken and senbon, but as soon as they appeared in a ten feet diameter of her, a wall of sand appeared, crushing them. The sand abated as soon as the weapons were all on the ground.

The Suna ninja did not understand how she had managed to use the sand while they couldn't. Their question was soon answered when they heard a whisper on the wind.

"You were warned."

All around them, the sand began moving angrily and encased their feet firmly, climbing on their bodies, making them cry out in fright.

The kunoichi stopped walking and they heard her sweet voice issue a command, power ringing in her every word.

"Stop. Don't kill them."

As though tamed, the sand quickly receded, but still kept their feet glued to the ground. The Suna ninja had no choice but to watch Sakura get away, surrounded by a whirlwind of protective sand, without being able to do anything about it.

_She tamed the desert…We must have that power…_

At the border, a few groups of ANBU were waiting impatiently for the renowned white-haired kunoichi to appear.

"You think she'll make it?" whispered a burly man.

"Who knows? She took on 200 nin one time and survived, so why wouldn't she manage to do the same this time?"

"Still…In a desert, with no supplies to boot…" he continued, unsure.

A cry cut them off in their suppositions.

"Look!"

A cloud of sand had appeared over a dune, making them tense reflectively. They did not know why, but the sand was radiating an aura of pure power. Soon, they saw that there was a figure hiding behind the moving wall of sand.

"Is that…"

"It is! It's Sakura-san!"

They waited until she was within hearing range and called her. When they did, the sand rustled seemingly impatiently and restlessly, but, to their astonishment, Sakura shushed it gently, making it abate. It thus fell into a heap behind her, barely moving.

The ANBU went to her prudently.

"Are you alright, Sakura-san?" they asked at once, noticing her bloody wrists.

"Hai, hai. I just need water. Could you show me the way back?" she said as she petted the heap of sand. "I had no problem finding my way back up to now, but that was because the desert helped me. Now…with time, I could do it, but it would be much simpler if you could do it for me."

At that, the ANBU nearly gaped. It was not hard for any one of their ANBU-level nin to find the village, so either this was an impostor, or something was very wrong with Sakura. Immediately, they were on their guard.

"Tell us something only Sakura-san would know," they demanded suspiciously.

"Alright," answered the white-haired kunoichi. "I'm dying."

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Sorry to finish it that way, but that last line would have lost its effect if I hadn't made this into a cliff-hanger. To know more, review! I know you may find me evil, but I'll make you a deal. For every 5 reviews I receive, I will update a day earlier. So if I receive 5 reviews, I'll update Thursday. If I get 10, I'll update Wednesday, etc. so I'll await your reviews!


	29. Dreams of the Red Dawn

Well, be happy. I almost didn't post this chapter because I have too much to do, but I promised I would if I received reviews, which I did, so here. Enjoy.

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The tree words, said so calmly, had the effect of a thunderstorm. The ANBU operatives tensed immediately.

"Well, if you want anything else, I could tell you that I sent one of my foxes back to Konoha with my report or that I sent a message to Minato-san to keep him from sending anyone after me or to negotiate with the Kazekage. And I'm not really in top shape, either," she added as she took a couple of careful steps.

She smiled a painful smile, closing her eye then opening it, and they could see that her lone bright emerald wasn't fixating on their eyes, but simply in the general direction of their faces. It took a lot of observing to notice it, for she was quite good at making it seem as though she really _was_ looking at them, but as ANBU, their observation skills were sharper than most. It could only lead to one conclusion.

"I'm blind," she said even as they gasped.

The trek back to Konoha hadn't taken as long as Sakura had thought it would. Of course, that may have something to do with the ANBU showing her the way, though their constant worry about her well-being had been really annoying and getting on her nerves. She was blind, not incapacitated!

All in all, she had managed not to fall flat on her face nor miss tree branches when jumping, which was, she thought, rather great of her. She had then crossed the gate and entered the village, going straight to the Hokage tower.

Of course, her appearance had elicited curious glances from the villagers, as she had been stripped of her gear, staying only in her tight black ANBU pants, not even wearing any sandals, and having only chest wrapping covering her breasts, along with several bloody bandages on her abdomen. Her white hair whipped behind her as she walked. Unbeknownst to everyone, while most of the sand protecting her had stayed behind in the desert, a fine layer of it still covered her body, ready to jump into action at any time to protect her.

She thought, with a mental chuckle, that Shukaku was being rather protective of her. It had to do with being a demon's mate and becoming a demon herself, as she had learned that demons were like one big family. In fact, Shukaku was protective like one would be of a sister or a close friend–she didn't want to think _lover_–and she wondered whether the demons were really as blood-thirsty as people said they were. She had already confirmed the "insanely powerful" part of the rumour.

She stopped her thinking when she came to stand before Minato's secretary. Giving her a feral smile just for the heck of it, she used a deceptively innocent and kind tone to tell her that she wished to speak with the blond Hokage. Having already seen what she was capable of, the secretary quickly opened the door, announcing the visitor with a squeak.

Sakura quickly entered and was promptly engulfed in a giant bear hug. She stiffened, before patting gently the distressed man, shushing him.

"There, there, Minato-san, I'm not dead yet, now, am I? No need to worry this much about little old me. I escaped safely and even managed to buy a puppet for Kyouya-kun."

Minato released her slowly, regaining his composure. He looked at her with perplexed eyes.

"Bought? With what money?"

She waved off the concern.

"Ah, I just put the bill under the Kazekage's name. No big deal."

Finally noticing the ANBU were still there, Minato cleared his throat and dismissed them before giving once again his full attention to Sakura.

"I sense something wrong with you, Sakura-san. Please tell me what it is."

The white-haired woman hesitated, but a painful cough erupted from her chest, answering Minato's question. The hand she had put in front of her mouth was speckled with crimson. She met the blonde's concerned blue eyes and gave him a small, sad and painful smile.

"I wish I could see your eyes right now. Did you know I always thought you had captured a piece of the sky in them?"

Minato was stunned and didn't know what to say.

"Sakura-san, what…"

Said woman, who had walked to the window, closed her eye. She didn't turn back to him when she announced to him that she was dying.

She had had to beg Minato not to tell anyone her condition, assuring him that her blindness was only temporary due to her sickness. It had taken her even more convincing to get him to keep her among the ninja cleared for missions. As much as she liked being in a hospital to help people, she had things to do outside the village, such as finding a certain nine-tailed demon.

She had been greeted warmly by the six orphans who now lived with her and had played with them for a bit before whipping up something to eat, somehow managing to keep her blindness a secret from them. No use alarming them unnecessarily. Thoroughly exhausted, she had crashed down on her bed, surrounded by the furry summons she had left at home to watch over the children.

As she fell asleep, playing with the ring on her finger, she couldn't help but remember being in the same position, only with very much human males.

"_This is your initiation, if you will," said Pein. "This orb will absorb some of your chakra and store it. Whenever you are low on chakra, just put your hand on the orb. It will replenish your chakra."_

"_Is it able to recreate chakra?"_

"_If you give it a sample, it can."_

_She looked to the orb filled with red mist that occasionally agglomerated in a shape resembling clouds and put her hand on it without any hesitation whatsoever. Immediately, she could feel her chakra being sucked away rapidly. It was as though her hand was glued to the orb. It was excruciatingly hot and painful, but she did not yell, however much she wanted to. The red mist swirled dangerously. With a bright flash of light, she was thrown away brutally, tossed aside like a mere puppet. She would have landed painfully on the stone floor, but her body was caught in a pair of arms and brought close to a warm and muscular chest. Through half-lidded eyes, she saw a blue face look at her with concern before passing out, not realizing mostly-naked men were appearing around her._

_When she regained consciousness, she noticed that she was still in the cave where she had touched the glowing orb. The men were either sprawled on the ground or sitting up and rubbing their heads. She was on a very masculine lap, which made her tense automatically._

"_Hey, guys! She's waking up!" called the man whose lap she was currently occupying._

_Immediately, all heads turned to her. She had to refrain from gasping and gaping and chose to close her eyes, mumbling about stupid dreams in which she saw half-naked dead people. The man laughed, the deep rumble in his chest making her wonder how a dream could feel so real._

"_No way. No fucking way. I'm outta here."_

_With that said, she got to her feet and left the cave, all the while muttering to herself. The Akatsuki members were left staring at one another in mild confusion._

"_So…That's the one who's responsible for bringing us to life, un?" said Deidara._

"_Seems so," shrugged Sasori._

"_What a babe!" exclaimed Hidan. "I'd fucking say yes to a piece of that ass!"_

_Kakuzu punched him into the wall. The others looked at Hidan, who was moaning in pleasure from the induced pain, then at Kakuzu, who gave them a bleak look._

"_He was annoying."_

_He, too, left the cave, leaving the others looking at him bemusedly._

_She was in one of the most unsavoury parts of the town, where a girl was in danger no matter what time of the day it was. Sitting on a stool in a bar, she gestured for the barman to get her another bottle of sake and felt a hand grope her breast at the same time. Immediately, she stilled, anger flashing in her eyes. She would have turned around and punched the pervert through a wall, but someone did it for her. The man went flying across the room, crashing on a table and thoroughly drenching everyone around it in alcohol._

"_Don't touch her," came Itachi's cold and monotonous voice, Kisame standing next to him with an arm around Sakura and the other still outstretched from his punch._

_The drunk man spluttered angrily and tried to antagonize the Akatsuki members, but fortunately for him, a few men around him restrained him, looking warily at the S-class nuke-nin._

"_That worm is not worth it, Itachi-san, Kisame-san. Let's get out of here before I decide to kill him," said Sakura as she lightly touched Itachi's tense shoulder._

_Both men nodded. Kisame took their sake bottle and followed Itachi out of the grimy bar while keeping an arm around Sakura. They were crossing the threshold when they heard the drunk man once more and went still._

"_Che, what a bitch. Dunno wha' they see in'er. Wonder how much they paid 'er t'stay wit'em."_

_Everyone stopped breathing, waiting for their reaction. A kunai flew toward the man and embedded itself in the floor next to his crotch._

"_Next time, I won't miss," warned Sakura without turning around._

_Once they left, people helped the stunned, drunk man stand up._

"_Baka! Don't you know who they are?! Be thankful they let you live! That woman, even though you insulted her, saved your fucking life! Fortunately for you, she's got them wrapped around her little finger, because if she didn't, you'd be wishing for death right now!"_

"_Yeah! Every one of them protects her fiercely, even though she can be fucking dangerous herself! They're all merciless! She doesn't fight much, but when she does, ya better get the hell outta her face! That's what you just escaped! If she wasn't as calm, she'd have cut your balls off and made ya eat'em, ya understand? Baka!"_

"_Ne, you don't have to be so careful, Zetsu-san," admonished Sakura as he bandaged her arm. "I'm not made of glass."_

"_We know you aren't, Sakura-san. __**But we'll still protect you.**__ Flowers are fragile. Here. I put one of my special ointments, so it should heal faster. __**Be more careful. We don't want to eat your corpse so soon.**__"_

"_Aww, so sweet," she said, sarcasm dripping from her words. "But really, thanks, Zetsu-san."_

_Sitting at the dining room table of the main Akatsuki lair, Sakura and Kakuzu were conversing on which mission to take to gain the most money as fast as possible with minimal effort._

"_I still say we should do that one in Rice country. It pays a little less, but danger is minimal compared to the other ones. That way, we won't be tired and we'll be able to do that other one at the border."_

"_Hm. It makes sense, but Hidan would be a pain in the ass, 'cause it's not an assassination mission, but a covert one."_

"_We'll have to restrain him to keep him from killing anyone, then. No problem," she said, waving aside the problem as though it were as fickle as a fly._

"_The hell it's no problem! I need my fucking sacrifices, babe!" yelled Hidan as he strolled up to them. "And besides, I'm sure it would make you fucking horny–"_

_Sakura punched him through the wall, where he ended in a heap. Kisame, who'd been passing by, looked at the man moaning in bliss._

"_Nice punch."_

"_Thanks," answered Sakura without looking away from the scrolls strewn on the table._

"_Aaah…So fucking good…Hit me again, babe!"_

"_Damn you, masochistic psycho. I'm working right now! Stop disturbing me! And I won't wear that pathetic excuse for a nurse uniform you put on my bed!"_

"_Art is a fleeting thing, un. It's best that way."_

"_Iie. Art should be eternal, that's the only way it can be art."_

"_Fuck your art, un! Sakura-chan, what do you think?"_

"_Forget it, I'm not getting involved in your fight. Be men and resolve it by yourselves. And stop moving so I can heal your broken tibia."_

_The sky is red. Everything is red, especially the blood flowing from her wounds._

"_I'll kill you. I'll break you, and then I'll kill you and all of your friends."_

Sakura woke up with a start, sitting up abruptly. Her breath was coming in pants as she put a hand to her face, only to find that she had shed tears during her sleep. The foxes around her purred gently to ease her.

_Memories…_

A small child poked her head through the ajar door. Sakura looked at her, surprised to see that she had regained her sight during her sleep.

"What is it, Haruka-chan?"

The little girl hesitated, looking at the moon-bathed woman with wide eyes. She was so beautiful, so strong. Maybe she could help her?

"Onee-chan…I had a bad dream. Can I sleep with you?"

Sakura smiled gently and threw the covers off in a silent invitation to join her, which the girl did. As she looked at the child in her arms, she only had one thought, eyes already beginning to close.

_I must be strong for them all…_

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So. This gives you an idea of Sakura's relationship with the Akatsuki members. Does it show that I love Saku/Akatsuki fics? She may be a bit out of character, but keep in mind that by that point, she's already undergone torture for seven months and that changes people. She has to be strong not to be eaten alive by the organization. Time to review, 'cause reviews make my day!


	30. Dangers at Sea

Well, guys, I really enjoyed writing this chapter, though I felt somewhat like a pervert afterward, so don't forget to tell me what you think!

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"Onee-san, you're really pretty!" exclaimed Tenzou.

"You think so, Tenzou-kun?" asked Sakura as she observed her kimono-clad form in a mirror. The kimono was marvellous, that was for sure. It was a cream white and small green leaves fell from the top to the bottom, accentuated by her green obi.

"Hai!"

"Then I'm fit to go out?" she asked with a grin.

"You are!" he exclaimed happily.

"Good. Then I'm going," said the white-haired woman as she pecked the boy on the forehead.

She went to the door of the apartment, stopping a moment to put her shoes on. The various children and foxes surrounded her, giving her hugs and kisses.

"Listen to my summons, guys, alright? Don't make a mess."

A chorus of "Hai" answered her. Satisfied, she put a hand on the doorknob, but a touch on her arm stilled her. Turning around, she saw Anko, who was looking a bit uneasy.

"You forgot this," said the teenager as she thrust an ornate comb into Sakura's hand.

Sakura closed her fingers around it and smiled, nodding. She carefully put it in her hair.

"Better now?"

Anko nodded, still not looking at her.

"I'll work with you on fighting with a summon soon, alright, Anko-chan? Until we do, work on summoning snakes."

The supper had been surprisingly pleasant. Obito's parents were not as outgoing as he was, but they were less austere than most Uchiha, as Sakura soon found out. Kakashi and Rin had also been invited, which made for a rather refreshing supper. Most of it was spent listening to Sakura recount some of the missions she had been on–those she _could_ recount, anyway, as some were confidential. Obito's mother had been ecstatic when she had recognized the comb the white-haired kunoichi was wearing. All in all, it had been a rather pleasant evening and she had enjoyed herself, chatting happily and discussing various matters with the elder Uchiha. In the end, she had left with a promise to come again. She had just stepped out of the Uchiha compound when an ANBU landed in front of her, giving her a scroll.

_I knew it couldn't last._

The mission was simple: find a man and kill him. The difficult part was that he was a dealer selling weapons to Iwa and Kumo and that as such, he would be very difficult to approach. Fortunately, the man had a well-known weakness: beautiful women. Thus the choice of using her as bait. Thus her anger. She could do the mission, but the thought of that man's touch on her repulsed her.

Calmly walking, surrounded by her team and Minato's, minus the blond himself, of course, Sakura, dressed in her kimono and having henged her hair black and every recognizable mark off of her, was playing a soft melody on a koto. The six ninja were listening to the sweet sounds, but did not stray from the path, knowing that they could be attacked at any time. Sakura was supposed to be a traveling musician, one of Rice country's daimyo's distant cousin who the daimyo wanted by his side during that time of war, thus having paid for protection for her. The road they were travelling on was one they knew the dealer often took and they could only hope to arouse his curiosity when they met him.

They did meet the man and his entourage on the way and Sakura had to refrain herself from lashing out at them for looking at her with their lustful eyes. Unsurprisingly, as soon as they had gone by, her still playing the koto and singing, the other party stopped and a man ran to them.

The mission had begun.

Kakashi and Obito kept him from advancing, forming a human wall and putting their kunai to the man's neck. The messenger put his hands up, saying that he meant no harm, but the two shinobi did not put their weapons down.

"My master asks for your presence, milady," said the messenger.

"Ninja-san, please put your weapons down," said Sakura calmly and demurely. "Clearly, he is of no danger to me."

"But…"

"Please. I'm safe, you see?"

Sakura followed the messenger, her six "guardians" following her closely. She came to a stop next to a cart from which a middle-aged man rose and assessed her silently before grinning perversely. He scratched his crotch and licked his lips, devouring her with his eyes.

"You're a pretty flower, babe. Wanna come with me on the sea?"

Still acting demurely, Sakura let her cheeks flare in a blush, looking at him through her eyelashes.

"Dear sir, I do not know if I can. I am awaited at my cousin's home as soon as possible."

"Not to worry, babe! I can send someone to tell that cousin of yours you're staying with me for a while!" he said, smirking in what he probably thought was a seductive manner.

Sakura fought off chills of disgust and gave a shy smile that secretly surprised every member of her six-man team. They had never imagined her wearing that sort of smile, seeing as how she was always so confident and poised.

Eventually, the man, whose name she had learned was Fujioka Mamoru, had "convinced" her to go on board of a ship with him. Of course, his entourage and her "hired protectors" went on board too. Once there, it was only a matter of time before they assassinated the man.

Sakura, at his demand, played the koto and sang for him, his closer acquaintances sitting with him as he listened to her, totally engrossed in the music. As thus, they didn't notice that the sake poured for them was laced with a potent poison until it was active, courtesy of Rin.

Their faces turning blue, they gurgled, motioning for the hired mercenaries to do something. As they moved, the six teenagers jumped into action, sending jutsu and weapons flying everywhere with a near perfect coordination.

While the teens were taking care of Fujioka's acquaintances and mercenaries, said man was below the deck in his luxurious cabin. He had not wasted any time in pleasantries, immediately taking Sakura to the cabin when she had finished her song and ordering for another woman to take her place. He had closed the door behind him, a perversely satisfied look on his face.

"Fujioka-san, this cabin is really nice, but…why have you taken me here?" asked Sakura as naively as possible.

"Call me Mamoru, babe, and lie down on the bed."

He pushed her toward the silk-covered mattress and observed her. She really was a pretty thing, he thought as he looked at the way her kimono had slightly fell to her shoulders, uncovering just the tiniest bit of cleavage.

As he approached her like a predator, she moved further onto the bed and fell on it. He immediately proceeded to crawl on the bed on all four, his hands groping her supple body, eliciting a rather becoming blush on her cheeks.

"Mamoru-san, what are…ah!"

She bit her lower lip, cheeks aflame. He had undone her obi and gone past the layers of silk, putting his callous hand directly on her breast. She arched into his touch, eyes closing in pleasure and hands gripping her hair, and he approached his face, intent on capturing her lips. He was so caught up in her half-lidded brilliant eyes that he almost didn't feel the slight prick on his scalp after she had wrapped her arms around his neck and combed his hair with her fingers. He did feel, however, his lungs collapsing and grasped for air, scratching his throat heavily. He gouged at his throat with his nails, only succeeding in making blood well on his fingers and throat.

"Masamune-san, are you alright? I…What should I do?" asked a falsely concerned Sakura.

"Hel-p…" he managed to say.

Before his eyes, he suddenly saw her change, a malevolent look on her face. She stood up, disgust evident in her tone.

"Help a pig like you? As if!" she said contemptuously as she began rearranging her clothes. "You're nothing but a worm. I would have thought that you would be a bit more careful, knowing your profession, but you didn't even once think that I may be a kunoichi. For that, you deserve your fate. You should die soon, by the way, that poison was pretty much potent," Sakura finished, putting the ornate comb back in her hair.

Without a last glance at the man writhing on the floor, she went to the door and opened it. At that same moment, a tremor shook the boat, forcing Sakura to push chakra to her feet in order not to tumble to the floor.

"What the hell was that?" she wondered, running up to the deck, not caring anymore about her dishevelled appearance.

The deck was a mess. Bodies were strewn on the floor, lying in puddles of blood. She could see people fighting everywhere and spotted her students to her left. She couldn't help but feel pride swell in her chest at the thought that they were able to fight this well with their weapons at their young age. She took a katana from the lax grip of a dead man and took another one from a man not far from the first one, then brandished them skilfully, the blades swishing as she twirled them to divert senbon and shuriken alike. She plunged one of the katana in a mercenary's gut, twisting it around in a sure pattern before yanking it out, the man spilling his bowels on the deck as he fell. Turning around, she plunged the other weapon in a man's chest, shaking her head. Trying to sneak up on her was not a good idea. As the man fell down, she heard a whimper and sought out the terrified person with her eyes, soon seeing her huddled in a corner, her wide eyes fixated on the blood-laden blades in her , so as to not frighten her, Sakura approached the geisha and crouched next to her.

"Don't worry, it'll be over soon, I promise. Do you understand?" she said soothingly.

The woman nodded fearfully.

"Good. Don't move, alright?"

Once more, the boat shook and began to angle.

_Kuso! We're sinking!_

She could see that both teams were getting rid of the last enemies and jumped in the fray to help them do it more quickly. Once it was done, they all regrouped, the teens panting a bit.

"Okay, you guys. I spotted a few geisha. We're going to bring them back to shore, as they had nothing to do with that Fujioka pig. The problem is, the boat is sinking."

She looked around, only to see that the shore was no longer visible and that the sea was turbulent, the dark waves splashing against the sides of the boat.

At this time of spring, the water was still quite cold and with all the waves, she doubted they could walk on water long enough to get to the shore safely, as they had already spent much chakra during the fight. She had to make a decision.

Her eyes blazing, she looked at the tired teenagers.

"Alright. Kakashi-kun, Obito-kun, Rin-chan, you remember when I rode on top of a water dragon?"

"Yeah, it was pretty cool," said Obito. "What of it?"

"You are going to do the same. It's not that difficult. You just have to anchor yourself to the dragon's head with chakra. It's really no different from walking on water. Each one of you will stand on a different dragon."

The ninja nodded resolutely.

"What about the geisha and you?" asked Kakashi.

"That poses a problem. None of you is strong enough to hold one of them for that long. Hm... I have an idea. You'll be two on each dragon and will make a chair of your hands to carry them. It shouldn't be too much to handle this way, right?"

"But there would be two geisha left, Sakura-san," pointed out Kakashi.

"I'll carry the last two. With my enhanced strength, there'll be no problem. Ladies, are you comfortable with that?" she called to the geisha who were slowly approaching.

The five women nodded.

"Alright then. Separate into groups, I'll create the water dragons."

Before she could do so, Kakashi put a hand on her forearm and looked seriously at her.

"As long as you maintain the jutsu, you won't be able to move from the boat, right?"

Sakura put a smile on her face, hoping he would not see her anxiety.

"Right."

"Then be careful. Don't sink with the boat."

He went to Kyouya, who was waiting alone with a petite geisha, and nodded to him.

"Ready? Go!"

Her hands flew into the hand signs and maintained the last one as she called out the jutsu. As soon as the teams were on the dragons' heads, she sent them as fast as possible toward the shore, never breaking her concentration but hyper aware of the two remaining geisha standing close to her. She could feel sweat breaking out on her forehead as she had to concentrate more and more to keep the dragons going as they went farther and farther away from her. Eventually, they stopped at the shore and broke down in a torrent of water. Placing her hands on her knees, Sakura bent down and let out a large sigh of relief. They were safe.

She felt the boat tremble once more. The geisha fell down, crying out in more fright than pain.

"No time to lose. Ladies, come here, quick!"

Without even thinking of hesitating, the two women struggled to their feet and stood next to the kunoichi who thanked the heavens that she had not had time to rearrange her kimono properly, as she doubted she would have been able to fight and run well in it. As it was, the kimono was giving her enough room for her legs to move, at least.

"Hang in there, ladies, and don't let go!" she exclaimed as she took them in her arms, their hands immediately wrapping around her neck and their supple bodies clinging to her tightly.

Sakura ran from the deck and jumped on the water, never looking back at the sinking ship as she rushed on the surface of the water. She jumped to evade large waves and continued on her way, running as fast as she could on the angry sea. She carefully avoided the waves that could have drenched her and the other two women and pumped more chakra in her limbs to continue moving as fast as she could. Exhaustion settled in slowly, but she would not give in, especially when she caught a glimpse of the shore. Tiny dots on it indicated to her that the ninja and geisha were waiting there. Redoubling her efforts, she jumped away from a shark, the two geisha in her arms screaming, and kicked it hard enough to keep it from wanting to approach her again. Eventually, the shore grew closer and closer and the cheers grew louder until she finally landed on the sand and let the two women stand on their own. Everyone crowded around her and congratulated her.

"Sugoi, Sakura-san!" exclaimed Obito. "You were amazing!"

The two geisha she had carried draped themselves around her, one on each side of her, and kissed her on the cheek, murmuring huskily that she had been like a knight in shining armour and looking at her with darkened eyes seductively. Jealous, a third one pushed her breasts against Sakura and put her hands in her hair, tugging her closer to kiss her passionately, making the others pout cutely. Sakura's eyes nearly popped out of her head in surprise. She had clearly not anticipated the geisha to be lesbians.

"Er…ladies…you do know that Sakura-san is a woman, right?" asked Obito uneasily.

"Of course we do! That's why that perverted Fujioka-san liked us so much!"

When they came back to Konoha, victorious, the guards were rather perplexed to see that Sakura literally had a harem around her, two beautiful women on her arms and the others giving her smiles–coy or innocent– and kissing her on the cheek or, occasionally, on the lips.

When asked about it, Sakura said that the women had refused to leave her side and that now that they were free from Fujioka Mamoru, they wanted to stay with her. It was thus arranged that they would live with her as civilians. When she had regained her true form, expecting the geisha to be less enthusiastic about being with her, Sakura was somewhat surprised. If anything, they were even more interested in her afterward.

That was how the orphans she had been taking care of gained five new older sisters.

_I should find a bigger apartment._

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Koto: a harp-like Japanese music instrument

Didn't see that one coming, eh? Don't worry, even though it's a bit ecchi, **I won't make it go any further between Sakura and the geisha** unless you ask me to. Now, time to review to make me happy and make me update faster! After all, I did give you a longer chapter than usual!


	31. Kiss and Angst

Argh, I'm so beat! I'm telling you, never work from 8:30 am to 9:30 pm, it's killing me. It's actually a miracle I could post this chapter, so enjoy, you lucky ones! Hey guys, if anyone wants to do some fanart for this story, be my guest! Just tell me where you posted it and I'll put the link on my profile!

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Waking up was never so peaceful to Sakura as it was that morning. Her eyes fluttered open and she immediately saw that the two warm masses to her sides were Haruna and Hana respectively. The two geisha were curled up next to her quite happily, if their faces were anything to judge by. Snoring lightly, small faces on their faces, they had clearly adapted well to their new life with her. Of course, it had been some time by now. When she had left for the valley between the mountains to regain her animal form, her new family had been very upset. She had thus been hugged more than usual on the day before her departure. Of course, that was true also when she had come back. Since then, a comfortable routine had settled in the household. Each morning, Sakura found two of the geisha cuddling with her quite happily. It did not upset her as much as it could have, surprisingly. They were family. Her sleep had been less and less riddled with horrible memories, too, for which she was grateful. If only for that, she would let the women sleep next to her. And when he visited her, Jiraiya pouted because the beautiful women were not interested in him, though he usually got over it quickly when he saw them interacting with her. Life was good.

At a certain training grounds, the white-haired kunoichi was reading her infamous orange novel at the base of a tree, a hand on the bump in her stomach. Every once in a while, the babies would kick and her lips would curve in a small smile. Eventually, she sensed a presence entering the training grounds.

"Kakashi-kun. Ne, what are you doing here?"

Her shrewd eye observed him over the edge her book, noting how disgruntled he looked. She clamped her book shut and tucked it in an inside pocket of her coat. Then, she pointedly patted her lap. Blushing, the teenager shuffled and lied down next to her, putting his head on Sakura's thighs, knowing it was no use to refuse to do her bidding.

"Now, tell me. What troubles you so?" she asked, gently threading her fingers in his gravity-defying hair.

Kakashi closed his visible eye and sighed, relaxing. Sakura's lap was soft and warm and seemed as though it was radiating confidence and protection.

"I just…Among both the ninja populace and the civilian one, there are people who resent me for depriving you of one of your eyes. They say that because of that, you are more likely to be hurt and that as a higher-ranked ninja than me, you are more important and that if one of us should die, it should be me, not you. Therefore, I should give you back your eye. I just encountered some of those people today."

Sakura inclined her head and sighed, closing her eye for a moment before looking at the sky.

_With or without an eye, I'll die soon anyway. But it's not like they know that._

"They are wrong, Kakashi-kun. I'm perfectly able to fight as it is. Besides, you need that eye more than I do and I already told you it's a gift, ne? Don't worry about it anymore. One day…one day you'll learn how terrible that eye can be, if used correctly."

Her last words had been spoken so quietly that he would not have heard them if he had been a lesser ninja. He glanced up at her to see her gently touching her cheek. A single tear was rolling down her skin.

"How stupid…Even though I'm ready for it…" she whispered.

"Are _you_ alright, Sakura-san?" asked a concerned Kakashi, kneeling next to her.

"I…"

A few more tears escaped her eye.

Kakashi felt something tearing at his heart and, not knowing why, acted on his reflexes. The genius pulled down his mask and captured the white-haired ANBU's lips with his gently. Surprised, Sakura immediately stopped crying and closed her eye, surrendering herself to the moment., automatically relaxing into the touch

When he had realized what he was doing, Kakashi had thought that she would punch him to hell and back. He was, after all, not as great as Jiraiya and she was pregnant from an unknown man. Thus, he was very surprised when her smooth lips parted when he tentatively traced them with his tongue. Hers came out to play with his and they began battling for dominance. He felt warmth spread in his belly and realized belatedly that he would never feel the same around her again. His respect and admiration for her were quickly becoming something…more, moving and morphing, forever changing into something he did not quite have a name for. However, that did not stop him from responding ardently to the beautiful woman.

He left her lips and noticed that her eye stayed closed. He wondered why for a moment, until he realized that she must feel compelled to do so to respect his wish for privacy. Touched, he shook his head and murmured that it was okay for her to see his face. Her vibrant emerald locked onto his features with something akin to remembrance and she looked away with a sigh. His heart clenched.

"Sakura-san, what is it?"

"You…look so much like him…I'm not sure I can do this. I…It would not be fair to you. To me. I don't…I _can't_ use you as a replacement, and I…I'm afraid I would do that if anything were to happen between us."

She stood up, ashamed to look him in the eye, and basically fled, leaving behind an upset teenager who did not exactly understand what had happened.

Sakura hastily burst into Minato's office, scaring him out of his wits. She raised an eyebrow at seeing a lovely red-haired kunoichi wink at her, brushing an invisible speck off of her clothes and licking her lips.

"Ah, Kushina, maybe you should let me speak with Sakura-san…" said Minato, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Nah, I think I can wait five minutes. Finish what you have to do, _Hokage-sama_," objected the ANBU.

She smirked and left the office, only to be called in a few minutes later to an office empty of any redheads.

_Naruto, did you know your mother is beautiful?_

She went straight to the point.

"I need a mission. _Now_."

The words kept repeating in Minato's head.

"_It has to be either a long one or an intense one. I need to get away for a while to clear my mind."_

"_Are you sure you're not running away from something?"_

"_Iie."_

Finally, after much coaxing on her part, she was able to extract a mission from him. It was probably one of the worst one he could have gotten her, but she had not cared and took it anyway. Of course, as soon as she had seen that she needed a partner and voiced it, a silver-haired teenager had erupted in his office, demanding to be Sakura's partner on her next mission, as though he had known all along she would come to get one. With a raised eyebrow from his part and a groan from Sakura, he had agreed, mentally chuckling and hoping that it would help them solve whatever it was that had happened between the two of them to make Sakura want to escape. And hopefully it would help Kakashi to get further out of his shell. Looking out the window, Minato chuckled. He would not have assigned the teenager for such a mission, but maybe he had the maturity to do it.

"We're screwed."

"I'd say."

The two ninja were miserably sitting at a dango stand, looking as though their life was forfeit.

"I don't know how we're going to be able to pull it off, but know that this is all your fault," continued Sakura.

"Don't you say that, I had no idea what kind of mission you'd gotten and I wasn't about to let you run off that easily," countered Kakashi.

The older kunoichi merely harrumphed before snorting something that sounded awfully like "bloody stalkers".

"Anyway, we _have_ to play our roles right."

"Yeah, yeah. The mission scroll says only that the guy we have to take info from is running a hotel especially for runaway people, then he kidnaps them and forces them into slavery or prostitution. Nasty one. It's clever, not many people would miss fugitives."

"What does this have to do with Konoha?" asked Kakashi, trying to take a look at the scroll.

"Well, slavery isn't something Konoha takes lightly, and the pay is really good, too. Well, it figures. Our client's son ran away with a farmer girl. You know how it is with rich families."

The silver-haired teen nodded pensively.

"Alright. So, should we be a couple too? It might help us find those two if we have about the same criteria."

Sakura sighed and passed a hand on her face, looking lost in thought and somewhat melancholic. Kakashi suddenly noticed how old she seemed in that moment, as though despair was the only thing she knew. Panicking, he backpedaled quickly.

"Or maybe we should just pretend we're siblings. Yeah, that might work too…"

"Iie, you were right, we'll have to pretend to be enamored lovers."

"Alright… So, do we say you were engaged and decided to run off with me?"

The words hit a little closer to home than she would have thought they would and Sakura had to restrain herself from clenching her hand next to her heart that felt as though it had just been ripped out, trampled on, and put back in her chest.

"_Shishou, I…Do I really have to marry that man?!"_

"_I'm afraid you don't have a choice, Sakura. As loath as I am to admit it, I can't revoke your engagement, as it was done for you by your parents before your birth, and the law doesn't allow me to interfere."_

"_Then I'll go to Suna. I'm sure Gaara-san would let me become a Suna kunoichi and _he_ would not have influence over me there."_

"_You could, and I'm sure that Kazekage-sama would be glad to have you, but if _he_ goes to the Fire Lord or to me to have you back and Suna refuses, as I'm sure would happen, considering the soft spot Kazekage-sama has for you and the debt he feels he has toward you, war could be declared once again between our two countries."_

"_Then I really have no choice, do I? I won't marry that pig of a man! When I see him on the street, he looks at me with lust and snobbishness and has made it clear that once I was married to him, I would have to be the perfect submissive wife, never to go out of the house and to carry as many children as he wants. He wants me to stop being a kunoichi! Shishou, you know that I would die if I were to marry him! I would basically have to cut all ties with my present life! Just because my parents were indebted to his family for borrowing money, why did they have to arrange a marriage between us to settle it?! How unfair is it?! And I can't even have a say in it! If my parents weren't dead, I'd force them to disown me to be free! I won't do it, Shishou. I'd rather die or even become a nuke-nin. Anything but be married to that pig."_

"_Do you really mean that, Sakura?"_

"_I do."_

"_Then I may have a solution for you. It pains me to ask this of you, but…you need to buy time for me to be able to revoke that stupid law and you have to be somewhere I can't have any control over you, nor the Fire Lord. This mission does not exist and I did not know who to send on it. Read the scroll and, if you accept it, burn it before coming back. I'll give you one day."_

Sakura snapped back to reality to see Kakashi looking at her with concern. She brusquely got up, tossing a few coins on the table.

"See you in an hour at the gates, lover."

* * *

Okay, you guys have probably guessed what mission she was referring to. Geez, this chapter was really hard to write, 'cause it's the foundation of Kakashi and Sakura's relationship, if you could say that. I didn't want it to be to angsty or too fluffy, but I get the impression it sucked anyway. And it begins a new ark, one that's somewhat darker than the previous one, so don't be surprised. This fic is rated M for a reason, even though I tried not to make it too gruelsome. Sigh. Hey, don't forget to review, alright?


	32. Sex Ed 101

Hey guys, sorry for the late chapter. Everything's way too hectic right now in my life. Anyway, I know that some of you had questions about the last chapter about Kakashi kissing Sakura out of the blue, so here is my explanation: Kakashi is, at this point, awkward with anything pertaining to feelings, let alone relationships. He doesn't know how to react when Sakura is sad around him, so he has to imitate what he sees other people doing, like hug and kiss. Furthermore, he really likes Sakura, so kissing her was the most logical course of action in his mind. Need I remind you he's still really naïve in those aspects? And yes, I know that shotacon is strange, but don't worry, except this chapter, there isn't going to have much more of this ('cause we all want a hot, older Kakashi, ne?) So if you are not at ease with that, well, just skip this chapter.

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The journey to the rather shady village they were to go to was made in silence, only punctuated now and then by questions about the mission. Kakashi had to wonder how Sakura would fare, as she was tense and was certainly not acting like usual. Would she be able to play her role effectively? Or him, for that matter? He risked a glance at the skilled kunoichi, only to find her looking at him. He could not see her face, due to her ever-present bandages on her face while on missions, but he had learned by now that the particular way in which her eyebrow raised meant that she was curious and contemplative, as though trying to decipher a complex puzzle.

"Are you worrying over the possible outcome of this mission?" she asked calmly. "In time of war, it's normal that slave traders exist. It's so easy to abduct someone and let people think that person disappeared because of the war. Kidnapped or killed by the other faction. But don't worry, we'll find the slaves and kill those slave traders, so cheer up, ne?"

Kakashi nodded slowly. "Hai…Though I was also worried about you."

Sakura's lone eye widened.

"Me? Whatever about? I'm ANBU, perfectly able to take care of myself, you know, or I wouldn't have lived this long."

The silver-haired teenager shook his head, looking ahead as he continued to run.

"It was more along the lines of emotional problems, let's say. I…Not only are you pregnant, which puts you more at risk, should anything happen, but you have to pretend that I'm your lover. I'm not quite sure how well you'll be able to play it off smoothly."

The white-haired woman found herself at a loss. This was…not what she had expected. Was he actually _concerned_ for her? The thought was heartwarming. She barely refrained from ruffling his gravity-defying hair.

"Hm. We're about half a day away from the village at civilian speed. We should henge ourselves now and continue the rest of the way as our aliases," mused Sakura. "Let's stop now."

They both landed soundlessly on the ground and shirked their backpacks. Each one took civilian clothes out of his pack and changed behind a tree, keeping weapons at hand in case any enemy stumbled upon them.

As Kakashi was putting his geta on, preparing to henge his hair black, Sakura's voice rose from where she was changing.

"Ne, Kakashi-kun, what colour do you want my hair to be?"

He was shocked enough to freeze in his movements and scrambled to pick his jaw up from the floor.

"Eh? I…I don't know. Whatever is fine, I suppose. Why?"

Damn. He sounded breathless even to his ears, what would Sakura say?

"Well, think about it. You're supposed to have eloped with me, so I was wondering what kind of girl would have caught your interest enough for you to abandon everything. That way, if I resemble her, it will be easier for you to pretend I'm really your lover. So?"

As speechless as he was, he could not help but think: _she'd only have to be you, but I can't really say that, can I?_ He gulped nervously.

"I…Whatever is easier for you will do, Sakura-san," he managed to murmur.

She heard her grumble about "teenage boys who don't even know their tastes" and how she "shouldn't have bothered to try to put him at ease with it all". A wave of guilt-laced gratitude washed over him.

_I know my tastes, I just can't admit them to you for obvious reasons!_

"But…thank you, Sakura-san."

A scoff resounded.

"Yeah, whatever. And from now on, just call me Sakura, or Sakura-chan if you can't manage that. It would be weird if you called your lover "-san", right, _Ka-ka-shi_?" she asked coyly.

He was sure she knew his face was burning red when he heard her chuckle. Then, he looked at the tree behind which she was changing, only to see her emerge in a worn yukata, her head devoid of her hitai-ate and with, out of all colours possible, _pink_ hair. Of course, he had to admit it suited her, but really, why _pink_?

"It excites males, makes it exotic, will provide a god reason for both you and the targets to abduct me. Trust me, it'll work wonderfully," explained Sakura with heartfelt conviction before he could even open his mouth.

_Trust me, I'd know._

She let a small smirk grace her face at his pink cheeks and used a henge to modify slightly her face and erase all traces of her tattoos and scars, committing to mind Kakashi's new appearance of a teenage aristocrat with high cheekbones, brown eyes and long black hair. Had he had white-lavender eyes, he would have passed admirably for a Hyuuga.

He felt somewhat awkward at having her look at him with two eyes when he was acutely aware that he had one her orbs in his skull. That thought was disturbing.

"Just one last thing. With my looks, I can guarantee a 90 percent chance that we'll be kidnapped without having to do anything special, but that may entail…unfortunate consequences for me. Gah! This is hard to explain!" complained Sakura as she rubbed her frowning forehead. "I guess what I mean to say is: if anything happens to me back there, don't interfere. Let it play as you would if you were my lover, not my mission partner. And don't do anything reckless or stupid."

He wondered for a moment what she meant and thought about what slaves would be made to do. For a male, probably acting as a servant and doing hard labor. For a female…

His head snapped in her direction, eyes widening.

"Please tell me it's not what I think it is!" he exclaimed, aghast.

"Geez, you only realized it now? That's why Hokage-sama was not inclined to give me–or anyone else, for that matter–this mission. Don't worry. It's not the first time I had to use my womanly charms, nor act like a prostitute, a sex slave, or being raped. If I've survived it before, I can do it again. Anyway, better it be me than another kunoichi who doesn't know what she's getting into or isn't so…"

_Broken._

She didn't let him argue and traipsed out of the forest toward the road, leaving him spluttering behind her, only looking back once with a raised eyebrow that clearly said: "Well, you coming?" in a challenging way.

The town was seedy, exactly as Sakura had pictured it would be. The perfect place to abduct someone without anyone batting an eyelash. It did not take them long to book into an inconspicuous inn. Once in their room, which only had one bed and a small dresser with a grubby bathroom attached to the left side of the wall, the undercover ninja put their meager belongings on the floor and looked at each other over the bed that separated them. Tension weighed heavily over them. Finally, with a sigh, the white-haired woman hung her head and began divesting herself of her clothes. Scrambling to turn around and preserve her modesty, Kakashi felt his cheeks redden.

"Wha…What are you doing?" he squeaked.

Sakura sighed another long, painful sigh.

"This is something that, unfortunately, _needs_ to be done, Kakashi-kun. I do not particularly wish for things to be this way, but we don't really have a choice. We need to be intimate before we play the part, because we can't have you blushing anytime someone mentions our sex life or even if we touch. Do you understand?"

"Hai, but what does this have to do with you getting naked?" he asked without turning around.

"Are you confident you could act like a lover without rehearsing it? We may be spied on by our target to see if we really are newlyweds on the run. Do you really think you could fuck me for the first time with people looking at us? Personally, I don't have a problem with it. That's not to mean I like it, but I know what to do and to expect. I don't expect you to know about sex and all because of your young age and, believe me, I don't feel comfortable being the one who has to impart such knowledge to you, but we don't have a choice, considering our mission hangs onto our performance."

_Stay rational, Sakura, stay rational…_

Kakashi could find nothing to say to counter with and settled for gulping audibly, beginning to understand just how much this mission would cost them both now that he knew what exactly it entailed. No wonder she had objected to him being her partner!

He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before managing to utter an apology.

"For what? I don't blame you. If anyone is to blame, it's your sensei for accepting to give you this mission or, better yet, the sick bastards who turn people into slaves. Now, get out of your clothes, we better get intimate as soon as possible to have enough time to get comfortable with each other. As soon as we get past this base, we'll be able to begin the _real_ part of the mission."

_That's it, that's good, focus on the rational…Stay rational, girl!_

"Do we…Do we _have_ to be intimate _tonight_?" asked Kakashi softly, still not moving.

He heard some rustling behind him and felt her engulf him in a hug, trying not to think about her naked state, preferring to find comfort in her warm embrace.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi-kun, but the hotel clerks already think we're a couple and would expect to hear er…_normal nocturnal activities_ coming from our room. And we can't be too careful. For all we know, our target could interrogate them to know if we really are who we say we are. Come on," she continued, gently taking him by the hand and making him sit down on the bed. "I'll be gentle, I promise. It'll be a pleasurable experience for you."

Fortunately, despite how embarrassed Kakashi was, he did not tamper with her hands when she began to slowly undress him and lightly kiss his neck. He was too numb to react and too far gone into his thoughts to notice just how gentle and tender Sakura was with him.

She slipped his haori down, revealing a smooth expanse of chest, and let her fingers skimmer across the smooth skin while she gently nibbled at his ear, feeling him shudder beneath her ministrations. She brushed her thumb across one of his nipples and smirked lightly when he threw his head back with a moan. A smile broke on her face as she noticed how relaxed he had become. Deciding to step up the ante, she hooked her thumbs into his hakama and slowly slid them down his thighs. She doubted he had even noticed lifting his butt from the bed to let her remove his clothing.

Kakashi felt warmth seep into him rapidly, realizing belatedly that he should feel more modest before the older beautiful woman, but the only thing he could do was letting himself enjoy the moment. He groaned as she began to lick and suckle a particularly sensitive spot he had never even known he had below his ear. His hands fisted in the sheets as he gasped for air. He acutely felt Sakura's burning hot touch as her fingers trailed lower and lower on his stomach until they grasped his erection. Immediately, the kunoichi's mouth slanted over his, distracting him by snogging him thoroughly in what had to be the hottest and most passionate kiss ever. Sakura used the distraction wisely, pumping his now rock hard member, before letting a finger caress the tip slowly, relinquishing in Kakashi's surprised gasp and shudder that made her tongue battle with his even harder. Eventually, she released him from the kiss, looking at his rosy cheeks and lips and his dazed and slightly unfocused eyes. With a smile, she shimmied her way down his body, keeping her eyes locked onto his, and grinned, purring with hooded darkened eyes: "A lot of men _love_ what I'll do next." Just before engulfing his erection in her hot mouth.

Kakashi's hips jerked instinctively as he let out a surprised yell at the sudden pleasure. She put a hand on them to keep him still, using the other to teasingly trail over the skin of his perineum while she bobbed her head up and down his penis. Kakashi, propped on his elbows to see what she was doing, could only watch in amazement as more of his length slipped down her throat as she relaxed it. As she hollowed her cheeks to increase the suction, he fell back on the bed in bliss, clenching his fingers in her pink mane of hair. Something began to coil deep in his belly, making him pant and clench his teeth. His erection, if possible, became even harder. Just as he felt he could take no more and would explode, Sakura released his penis with a wet plop. He could only watch as she crawled over him then crouched over his erection. Just as she was about to engulf him in her heat, he stopped her before he was too far gone to object to anything.

"Wait! Please wait. I…If we do this, I want us to do it properly. Please?"

Poised over him, she raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Could we…do this without henge? I mean…I…"

Understanding, Sakura, with barely an ounce of hesitation, removed the henge and the diamond on her forehead. Kakashi was left staring at much the same woman, except with white hair, a closed eyelid that would have once hidden the eye that she had implanted in his head, and more scars than he had ever seen on anybody. She looked uncertain as he approached a hand to her torso and brushed his fingers across one of them. Brusquely, she found herself on her back with a younger silver-haired version of one of her children's father crouching above her, looking at her with darkened intent eyes.

"I was led to believe sex was about giving _and _receiving. I may not be experienced, but let me try to reciprocate. Just sit back and enjoy."

With that said, he promptly closed his lips around one of her nipples, imagining hers would be just as sensitive as his. He was right. With a pleasured sigh, she relaxed against the bed, for once not losing herself in memories of another time.

_Am I going to hell for sleeping with your younger self, Kakashi? For taking away your innocence?_

* * *

Oh God. You guys don't know how fucking hard it was to write this chapter. For one, I had writer's block, not knowing exactly what to do with it, and I knew I had to write that last scene for the plot to move on, but it was so hard! I was finally getting into it when life got in the way and when I returned to it, I found myself dissatisfied with it, so I had to work on it again…Anyway, it's done with. I hope you guys don't hate me too much for making Sakura sleep with a minor (I felt slightly green when I wrote it, like I was the one taking advantage of young Kakashi). As always, please review! I can't improve if you don't tell me what you think of it!

And this begins a new, darker ark. This fic is rated M for a reason, and while I'll try to not make things too gory or anything, don't expect everything to be all peach and roses.


	33. Beginning the Mission

Okay, I'm updating this early because1) I have a slightly less hectic schedule than I had for the last month and 2) I'm afraid I lost some of my reviewers with the last chapter. Don't forget that reviews feed my muse!

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_Sitting in her bed, her form bathed in moonlight, Sakura trembled, sobs raking her body, as she tried to tune out the unmistakable sounds coming from her neighbor's bedroom. She could see him, in her mind's eye, his strong shoulder glistening with sweat as, grunting, he fucked a woman into the mattress. Images of dark times spent in a cold dungeon being gang-raped for days on end resurfaced, making her choke down a whimper. Suddenly, the swings of her neighbor's bed stopped squeaking and she vaguely heard a rustle of clothes, followed by a door slamming and an angry woman's voice._

"_Are you telling me that…that pathetic broken excuse for a woman is more important than me? That you prefer playing babysitter than having fun with me?"_

_Silence. Then: "She will always be the most important woman in my life."_

_A cry of rage._

_Less than a minute later, a breeze cooled her small frame, making her shiver, then a, for lack of a better word, _safe_ warmth enveloped her. She belatedly realized that the unique scent belonged to the very neighbor whose sexual life she had just been privy to. His strong arms, instead of making her feel caged, actually made her feel protected from the voices of dead people who kept, even now, raping her repeatedly. It did not matter that those ghosts had departed from this plane. As long as she kept feeling their icy fingers on her skin and hearing their voices in her mind, they would always exist just to be her own personal hell._

"–_kura? Sakura? Are you alright? Come on, snap out of it, you're safe, you're with me now. I'm sorry, so sorry, I didn't think, I'll make sure it doesn't happen again!"_

_She shook her head and looked up at him with moist emerald eyes._

"_You smell like her."_

_It was unusual to see Kakashi flustered, but at that moment, even with his mask on, she could sense his emotions clearly._

"_I…give me 5 minutes."_

_She watched his back as he strolled into her bathroom, admiring his strong naked back and shoulders. It barely took him two minutes to come out, fresh from a shower. He didn't waste any time to take her into his arms once again and spooned with her under the covers, lending her his silent strength._

"_I'm sorry to have disturbed you," came her voice in a whisper._

_He shook his head, knowing that even though she couldn't see him, she could sense his movement, draped as she was around his body._

_His reply was so long in coming that she had begun to fall asleep once again._

"_I'd pick you over any girl any day of the week, my precious fragile blossom."_

_That night, she slept with a smile on her face._

Sakura was the first to wake up, slowly coming to. She smiled lightly as she felt Kakashi burrow his head in her chest, cuddling to her in his sleep.

_How cute. I wonder how he would react if he were to wake up now?_ She pondered with somewhat sadistic glee, before shaking her head. _Nah, I have to be nice, he'll probably feel embarrassed enough as it is, no need to add to it. Better enjoy the moment while it lasts._

With that, she drifted off into a light doze.

When Kakashi woke up, the first thing he thought was how warm and satiated he felt. Blinking, he realized that he was looking at a rather feminine chest. Dread filled him as he recounted the night's events. He had fucked–no, made love to–Sakura. And apparently, he hadn't been so bad at it, for a virgin, if her yells of pleasure were any indication. What irked him was that she was the one wrapped around him, not him around her. One day, he'd grow up and be the one holding her. For now, he would just enjoy the situation.

_Gah…I don't want to wake up…but this mission has to get done at some point, and I want to see my cute students…_

Determined, Sakura got up, disentangling her limbs from Kakashi's, and made her way to the bathroom, sensing her young lover's gaze on her bare scarred back.

"Ne, Sakura-san…what does the tattoo on your back represent?" he asked, eyeing the blooming sakura tree with a sleeping fox and a wolf tied like a scarecrow underneath it.

"The best friends one could ask for, my first team…each one of us orphans and yet family…"

With a last wistful smile, she disappeared in the bathroom, leaving the teen to think about what kind of people the white-haired woman would think about so fondly.

The manager looked at the young couple as they approached him somewhat cautiously. His eyes rove across the pinky woman with lust, disregarding the teen in favor of checking his woman out.

"How can ah 'elp ya, babe?" he said in an oily tone that made shivers of disgust run down her spine.

Kakashi harrumphed pointedly and growled that they needed a way to get out of the country incognito. He snaked an arm around Sakura and brought her body flush to his, his hand softly rubbing her belly. The message was very clear: back off!

"Hm…If ya've got money, anythin's possible in this city, youguns."

Kakashi eyed the older man shrewdly.

"Money isn't a problem. How soon can you arrange something for us?"

"Well, I know a guy who'd be able to help ya out, so if I contact him, he could see ya at the end of the afternoon."

"Thanks. You do that. If he really is able to help us, you'll get your share."

Putting his hand at the small of Sakura's back, Kakashi guided them out of the hotel.

"Hey, son! She any good in bed?" called out the oily voice.

"I'm not even going to bother answering that," the teen answered flatly.

He had to forcibly calm himself before he strangled the man and blew their cover. He felt Sakura's hand squeeze him to comfort him and suddenly felt calmer than before, a strange warmth invading him inside.

A whisper.

"You did very well back there, Kakashi-kun. Keep up the good work."

His head snapped to the side, but Sakura looked like she had never said anything. He knew that ANBU were trained to speak without moving their lips so that enemies could not read their lips from afar, but he had been surprised nonetheless at his partner's nonchalance. What else could she fake so easily?

"Ne, don't worry, I didn't pretend last night. I was there to teach you, remember? Think of it as Sex Ed, if you will. I may pretend many things during missions, but I promise everything yesterday night was real."

There was no way he could stop himself from blushing after such a confession.

Pretending to be runaway lovers in a seedy town is not as simple as people might imagine. You have to act enamored and protective, yet scared at the same time and trying to keep a low profile. It's all in contradictions and nuances. Truth be told, Kakashi was not sure he would have been able to pull it off without Sakura's help and guidance. However, all did not go as smoothly as they would have hoped it to. Halfway through the day, Sakura's knees suddenly buckled and Kakashi had to support her weight long enough to let her sit down back to a wall in an obscure alley.

"Sakura-chan!"

The woman opened henged eyes at the sound of the worried voice.

They were unfocused.

"Are you alright? Is there something wrong?"

Even the sound of his voice came somewhat muffled to her ears, like she was hearing through cotton. She knew then that she would not be able to complete the mission without telling him that her body was steadily deteriorating. It was a handicap she could not hide from him when it could mean the success or loss of the mission.

"My body is destroying itself, Kakashi-kun."

The tone was clear, even though she was whispering, and her lack of hesitation made him instantly aware that she was telling a truth she had known and accepted for a while.

"I'm a living–well, dying, really–paradox and it's slowly destroying my body, as more and more of my energy goes in protecting my babies and making sure they'll be born safely."

"Wha…What do you mean? And what's this about dying?"

"I have a few months left to live at max, I won't lie and say years, and there are still a few loose ends that I need to take care of. Until then, I won't let myself die. Just…don't worry, ne? It's not the first time this is happening."

"What's _this_? What is it?"

She sighed with a small, sad, ironic smile.

"Oh, Kakashi-kun, haven't you realized it yet? I can't see."

The words were like a defeating blow to his gut.

In his defense, Kakashi could say that he had not expected the news. Few knew of them anyway, and all were sworn to secrecy. However, to learn that the woman he–that she was dying…it was devastating. But his personal emotions would have to wait, they had a mission to accomplish. Fortunately, Sakura had revealed to him that her handicap was merely temporary. However, if she started to cough blood, she would have to isolate herself in order to treat herself before it was too late to do so. Which meant things could take a turn for the worse. Then, he had thought about the oily manager at their hotel and worried that now that she could not see, he would get suspicious, at which point Sakura had snorted that a) she could still function somewhat normally without her sight and that b) he had been plunging his gaze in her neckline to see her breasts so much that he probably would not have noticed if she hadn't had a nose.

In the end, they decided not to tell people she was blind until they asked. Better have an ace if they could. With that, they headed back to the hotel and, hopefully, to a meeting with their target.

The man wasn't the one they were looking for but, fortunately, had connections with the one they were looking for. After compromising and baiting him with much money, they managed to secure a meeting with that more influential man. They soon realized that their intel had been wrong when, two days later, they met the man. While that man was clearly a force to reckon with, he was no match compared to the one who operated in the shadows. His right-hand man was what you could call a cold-hearted genius.

_What the hell am I doing here?!_

Kakashi shook his head to try to remember as much as he could from his fragmented memories, flashes shooting brightly now and then.

_Meeting with the man…Check. Discussing…Check. Taking a drink…Kuso! And that man, who the hell was he? Why did we not get any info on him beforehand?_

"Hey, man, you alright?"

He tried to turn, only to wince as the loud clatter of chains that followed his movement stabbed him straight between his eyes. Opening his eyes once more, he quickly roved them all over the…dungeon cell. There were about a dozen people in it with him, if he had to judge quickly.

"Sakura…Where…"

A hand gently pushed him down.

"Relax…I don't know who this Sakura is, but there's no women here. They're kept elsewhere, probably in a cell together like us…"

"No…no…I…she needs…"

He shook his head, but the fog over his memories and mind remained.

"You can't do anything about it right now…none of us can."

"But she's pregnant…"

The tense silence that followed did not bode well.

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Hm…Cliffy! Ne, read and review, guys, it's always appreciated to know what you guys like and what I could improve. I'm so happy I'm finally out of my writer's block! Yay for me! So, what did you think about the first scene? I tried to make it sweet yet sad. I think it conveys well Sakura's relationship with older Kakashi, don't you?


	34. The Wonders of Captivity

If he had to guess, he would say it had been two days, maybe three, since they had been kidnapped, but it could have been more. In the cell, time seemed to have no importance. The initial drowsiness caused by whatever drug had knocked him out had slowly waned, leaving him exhausted, but with a clear mind. Nothing much had happened. Once in a while, they would be served some grubby food, but that was the only contact the men had with their captors. From what he could tell, there were several other cells in which groups of people were held. It appeared as though all of them were unisex, too, so that people of different sexes could not intermingle. He had soon learned why: their kidnappers wanted no pregnant women because they were worth less on the sex slave market. All pregnant women were forced to abort their children.

_Sakura!_

A wave of panic had hit him violently, with a force that he had not been prepared for.

_Relax, she would not let anything happen to her babies…would she? Does she even have a choice?_

At that moment, the relative peace was disturbed by yells and clangs.

"You monsters, let her go!"

A gruff, angry voice.

"Someone shut up those bitches!"

Shrill screams.

"What have you _done_ to her?!"

The heavy wooden door opened with a yank and something was thrown roughly into the cell, falling limply to the stone floor. The thing twitched, as though trying to move, and in the obscurity, he suddenly recognized a flash of pink amongst the mass of red.

"Sakura?! Oh Kami, Sakura, wake up!" Kakashi cried with anguish.

"Boy, is that your sister?" came the voice of one of the prisoners.

"She's my lover!" he snapped hurriedly.

He rushed to kneel next to her, brushing a stray lock of hair from her forehead with trembling fingers. Slowly, as though it was an incredibly difficult feat to perform, the young woman's glazed eyes opened.

"'Kashi?" she croaked painfully, the blood red lips getting his attention, as well as that of the other room's occupants who had crowded in a circle around the pair.

"Hai, it's me. Have you begun coughing blood?" he asked with anguish tainting his young voice.

A wry smile curved the kunoichi's lips and he could see that her teeth were crimson with the life liquid.

"Nah…that's not mine…Emasculated the guy who tried to make me abort and give him a blowjob."

At her words, the men in the room all winced at once and cupped their genitals as though to protect their family jewels. Whoever she was, the pinkette was sure a spitfire.

Kakashi put Sakura's head on his lap, trying to gauge her state, only to see her sweat heavily and grip her stomach, panting. She clenched her teeth, grinding them to restrain from crying out loud.

"What's wrong? Sakura, what's happening to you?!"

"I…Y'gotta help me…They…the drug they gave me…"

"Drug? What drug?"

Later, he would deny that his voice had raised an octave in his panic.

"…To make me…abort…my babies…"

"_What?!_"

"T'won't work…'cause of my pr'tection jutsu…gonna turn my insides t' mush…"

The silence that followed was deafening in its intensity, punctuated once in a while by harsh pants.

"C'mere," she beckoned him. "Look in…my eyes…an' push chakra in yours…"

"P–push chakra in my eyes? What're you gonna do?"

A weak murmur, barely audible.

"Show you the past…"

Frowning, he did what she asked without complaining. Immediately, he was pushed in a whirlwind of colours and sounds.

"_Sensei, we're losing her!"_

_The beeping noises in the white, sterile room became erratic and diminished in intensity._

_The doctor spared a glance for the alarmed nurses, looking lost himself, until he–no, _she_– pushed him back forcefully, taking over the process with small, capable hands._

_He could only watch enraptured as Sakura–for he was sure it was Sakura's eyes he saw the scene from–forced the poison from the dying kunoichi on the operation table into a sphere, the water she had used to do so encasing the dangerous poison as she extracted it carefully. Without thinking, he could immediately _know_ how she had accomplished the process, even though he had never seen it done before, nor even heard of it in Konoha._

_His dainty hand brushed his forehead, examining the now recovering kunoichi._

"_She's safe now. Stitch her up, everyone, I've got to take care of the other members of her team."_

_There was a chorus of "Hai, Sakura-sensei!" as he turned around to, presumably, go take care of the other injured shinobi._

"Whoa…"

He shook his head to clear it, immediately focusing on the limp woman in his arms, not even pondering how he instinctually knew exactly what to do.

"Someone get me water!"

The next time Sakura woke up, presumably hours after her loss of consciousness, rather groggily too, she immediately noticed two things: she was _still_ blind and she was not feeling any pain anymore, which meant that Kakashi must have managed to get rid of the poisonous drug in her system. She was thankful for his intelligence and presence of mind, aware that Naruto would not have been able to save her. Though, knowing him and his luck, he probably would have been able to find someone who could soon enough to save her.

"Hey, she's waking up!"

She felt a hand on her lower back, trying to help her to sit up, and asked for how long she had been unconscious.

"Not too long, they haven't brought us our grubby food yet."

She nodded thoughtfully, wondering where Kakashi was. He had not made his presence known yet.

"Where's–"

"Ah, he's still sleeping. That thing he did with the water and stuff really tired him."

"Right. Gah! Iie, iie, it's alright," she said, lifting a hand to show that she was fine. "I'm just sore from the beating they gave me, nothing life-threatening. My movement just made me realize that my flesh is still tender."

She shook her head, letting her fingers trail through her pink hair.

"They'll come for me. Now that I've pissed them off, I doubt they'll hesitate to make an example out of me."

A great sigh and ironic smile.

"I know that kind of man. Listen…give my necklace to Takashi," she said, unclasping the chain maintaining the bottle of sand around her neck. "Tell him that when the time comes when he needs help in my absence, he only has to clutch the bottle and say that I grant him protection in my stead. Alright?"

"Sure, but…"

"Tell him he is a great man and that I'll cover for him," she continued in a rushed voice.

"Wait, what?"

"He'll know the signal when the time comes. And please tell him not to look for me, that it's ok to leave me behind."

"Waitwaitwait, what is this all about? I…"

"No time to explain."

The sound of feet stopped behind the door before it was opened and she was hauled to her feet roughly.

"You're coming with us, bitch! And you'll see that the master is very versatile in torture. He's meaner than anyone else here, whore. Then you'll get to scream loud enough for your little boyfriend here to wish he had killed you instead of sparing your life."

"I know," she replied in a glacial, emotionless tone.

Oh yes, she knew. After all, she would never forget the face of the man who had tortured her for _months_ on end with sadistic glee. His pleasured face as he drove his cock into her tired body would forever haunt her nightmares.

Her body hurt from the beatings and the strength she had to put into not transforming into a demon, as her chakra suppressor had been torn from her arm hours before, not that the stupid brutes knew what it was in the first place. She was physically shaking from the strain of it.

Two men were securing her arms while another grabbed her by the hair to force her head into the tank full of ice cold water. They let her there for a while, then brought her head up, looking passively as she gasped for air, her naked skin covered in goose bumps. She couldn't see them, but she knew that the other women with whom she shared her cell were all watching, horrified, as she could hear their sobs and cries for mercy for her. As long as she could pull herself into memories of another kind than the ones plaguing her at the moment, she would conserve her sanity.

_Yuu-kun, Tetsuo-kun, Kyouya-kun…What would you say if you knew?_

Through blurry, unseeing eyes, a memory came back to her.

_A nurse burst in her office, disheveled, her eyes alighting at the sight of the young pink-haired kunoichi._

"_Sakura-sama! A group of ANBU was just brought in! They're in pretty bad shape, we need you to attend to them quickly!"_

_As she got up, she wondered why it needed to be her._

"_Sure, but why me? I'm not the only one out there…"_

"_They specifically asked for you!"_

_That stunned her. Of course, she knew that ANBU had the privilege of having whichever medic they wanted if they asked for it. It was due to the fact that most of them were paranoid and subconsciously felt the medics' presence as an enemy when they were bordering on unconsciousness. It was a reaction ingrained in them to save their lives in case of a surprise attack and it was proven that if they felt familiar chakra, they would not react that way, so oftentimes, whole ANBU squads had a medic assigned to them who had to come running, no matter what, if they were brought in injured. However, Sakura had never been specifically called by a team, nor had she been assigned to one. Of course, she had healed a few members, but nothing that might make her more liable to be asked specifically. Shaking her head, she followed the nurse, briefly ordering her to get her an overall view of the situation._

_She came into an overcrowded room where several doctors were trying to pin a man to his bed while he trashed around. Growling low in her throat, she pushed the doctors away before pinning the flailing man firmly with one hand to the bed, using the other one to send a soothing wave of chakra to his brain to force his body to release endorphins. Immediately, his tense formed relaxed enough for her to use the syringe a nurse had put in her hand. She didn't hesitate and, in a fluid movement, plunged the needle in his arm to inject him with the painkiller. While she could have used her chakra to do the same thing, with an ANBU team in bad shape, it was best to conserve her chakra._

_Around her, everyone was silent._

"_Well, what are you all waiting for?!" she barked at the medical staff, most of whom were at least twice her age. "Those of you who aren't supposed to be here, get out before I kick your asses myself. The others, get me the medical reports on the other members. That means NOW, people!"_

_A chuckle came from one of the beds._

"_Heh. Knew she was the right one to ask for. She'd never disappoint us."_

Sakura gasped as her head was pulled out of the water once again, an echo of the past resounding in her ears.

"_She'd never disappoint us."_

_Yeah, right! I'm not so perfect._

"Damn bitch is not giving in! Wha' should we do, Boss?"

A pause.

"Kill her. And kill three random women to show the others we aren't here just for show."

Cries of protest erupted from the group of prisoners.

"Kurosaki-san! Usui-san!"

"Tachibana-san!"

"Iie! Leave her alone!"

_Wait, Kurosaki-san?! She was here?! Kuso!_

She erupted into action, slamming her fist into the ground. The underground facility started to cave in, causing chaos to reign free. She could only hope Kakashi would react accordingly.

"Hokage-sama, I'm about to do something incredibly stupid. I can't let those women die and I hope Kakashi-kun will do the same for the other men out here. I…I've been hurt pretty badly," she whispered, pushing chakra into her voice. "I'll stay behind and cover our traces. Over and out."

_Time to get out of here._

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Hehe. Evil, evil. To give you an idea, Sakura and Kakashi have been on this mission for a total of approximately two weeks, counting the time it took them to get to the city, get in contact with the abductors and the time spent in captivity. Now, review!!!!!!!!! That's an order.


	35. A Dash of Dashed Hope

Be happy you get a new chappie, I so don't have time to write right now! And I almost forgot to post it, too, so count your blessings. Ahem. Alright guys, warning: angst ahead! To prepare yourselves for the second part of this chapter (it begins as soon as it becomes Kakashi-centric), you should listen to Hey There Delilah by Plain White T's and Hurt by Johnny Cash. In that order. I think it will put you in the right mindset. I hope you enjoy, guys!

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Pans of the wall crumbled to the ground heavily. Sakura lunged forward, kicking some of them while snatching the entity she had recognized as Kurosaki-san from the floor. Clutching the woman in her arms, she kicked one of her torturers in the gut, dashing forward to finish him off.

"Sakura-san, what–?"

"No time, we have to get out of here," she answered the astonished woman. "Oh my–Stay here!"

With that said, she put the woman on the ground and sailed past her, running for a group of clustered prisoners who were about to be crushed by a part of the ceiling.

SMASH!

Dropping to one knee, the white-haired kunoichi grunted in pain. The pan of the ceiling had most surely crushed her shoulder. Blood ran down her arm and chest heavily.

"Are you guys alright?"

The trembling women nodded and whimpered, some managing to attest to their state.

"Good. Then get out of here, all of you! Those bastards should be in too much confusion right now to get in your way."

"But…But what about you, Sakura-san? Blind and pregnant at that…"

She waved the objection aside with a bloody smirk.

"Kunoichi can handle themselves."

Or so she'd said. In reality, she knew that she was in bad shape. Most probably, her shoulder had been broken by the pan of wall falling on it, and the stress she was intentionally putting on her body as she forced her demonic powers not to invade her had her clenching her teeth with the effort. After all, she couldn't very well transform here. All in all, it was taking a toll on her.

Now, she had to find the chakra suppressor that had been carelessly ripped from her and tossed somewhere in the room, knowing she must leave no incriminating evidence behind and aware that this, if anything, was some. Of course, without her sight, this could take a long time.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

Immediately, dozens of foxes appeared in front of her, eager to please.

"Hey, guys. I want all of you except one to free and steer the prisoners away from here. Take them home safely. Narabi, I want you to find my chakra suppressor before checking on Kakashi. Just give it back to me as soon as possible, then go help him. Alright?"

There was a chorus of "Hai!" before the summons disappeared swiftly.

The target was going to be fine, she was sure of it. Kakashi would get her and her runaway husband out of here. She could count on him and on her summons. There was not much she could now do except try to get out alive.

Once the walls started to crumble to the ground, it was not too difficult to rush out with the help of Sakura's summons. Kakashi tried not to think of what that, plus the words she had one of his cellmates convey to him, could mean. He had grabbed the man they had been sent to save and, with a thankful nod to the russet fox that had brought the noble to him, had ran out as fast as he could. He had uttered the words Sakura had told one of the prisoners to tell him, but there had been no effect whatsoever. Amidst the chaos, he had found his second target–actually, the noble had flung himself at his lover– and had taken them out of the underground facility.

Once they came to the door leading outside, Kakashi's ninja senses roared to life. Spinning around, he put the two runaways behind his back and would have parried the blow that came their way if a wall of sand hadn't suddenly erupted from nowhere. It then morphed into a ball that confined the attacker and slowly crushed him to death. Belatedly, Kakashi noted that there was no blood leaking from the wrangled mass on the floor when the sand receded. It was as though it had been absorbed. Shaking his head at the thought, he took off again.

It was in something akin to a trance that he returned to Konoha after delivering the two lovebirds to his client.

Minato gazed at the new arrival in his office. The silver-haired teen looked like he had gone through hell and his black eye looked devoid of any emotion other than a quiet despair. He was almost afraid to ask why he was carrying both Sakura's backpack and his own. After all, Sakura's wind-whispered message had been rather foreboding.

"Hatake Kakashi to report, Hokage-sama."

Wow, even his tone was cold and flat. He was not going to like what he would hear. Kakashi had not sounded like that ever since Sakura…had…come…No! It could not be. He refused to believe it.

"Report, Kakashi-kun."

"Mission successful, Hokage-sama. The runaways were delivered safely to the client."

"…And Sakura-san? Is she at the hospital?"

"Iie."

"Then where is she? If you tell me she went back home instead of going there…"

"She hasn't."

That sounded worse and worse by the minute. Please, Kami, no…Not when Kakashi had finally reverted back to the young boy he had been before his father's suicide.

He looked at the teenager with serious eyes and asked: "Kakashi…What happened?"

"I obeyed the orders. She ordered me to leave her behind. That's the only thing she left me with," answered Kakashi as he took Sakura's necklace off and put it on the Hokage's desk. They both knew that Sakura never took her necklace off.

"Get some rest, Kakashi-kun. I'll send an ANBU team to check if they can find her body and bring it back."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

He trudged despondently through the city, a dark cloud hanging over him. Without thinking, he went to Ichiraku, where his teammates were currently having lunch. Once Rin and Obito saw him, they jumped off their seats and ran to him, showering him with questions. They led him to the bar counter and made him take a seat between the two of them. Rin then proceeded to heal his superficial injuries while Obito asked him how the mission had gone. Through it all, Kakashi barely responded, only occasionally grunting or shaking his head.

"Wha–What's wrong, Kakashi-kun?" asked Rin gently. "Did something bad happen during the mission?"

He stayed silent for a long time, then looked at her for the first time since they had seen him.

"I…"

He swallowed painfully.

"I did it again."

Rin and Obito shared a worried glance.

"What did you do again? What is it?"

Kakashi closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath.

"I chose the mission again."

"I don't understand…" Obito trailed off, before his eyes widened. "Wait, no way, it can't be. Not her, teme! Not her!"

Obito jumped at him and began to shake him roughly, tears running down his face, unaware that everyone around the trio had stopped what they were doing to watch the drama unfold.

Kakashi did not make a move to stop Obito, so it was Rin who had to gently pry the Uchiha off him.

"I'm sure it wasn't your fault, Kakshi-kun…What exactly happened?"

"I followed her instructions. She ordered me to leave her behind." He paused. "I should have gone back for her…I should…I don't know, but I should have done _something_!"

Rin sighed sadly, trying not to cry like her other teammate. She would have to be the strong one this time.

"If she ordered you to, you did the right thing. When going on missions, a ninja should always be ready to put his life on the line, remember? And as taichou, she was the one to decide what to do, so if you had disobeyed her, it could have counted as mutiny. Besides, Sakura-san is way more experienced than all of us. She may come back yet. Ne?"

Minato was looking at the setting sun from his office window when he heard a swoosh of clothes behind him, indicating a group of ANBU had just arrived.

"Report."

"We inspected the premises and found traces of Sakura-san's blood."

"Did you find her?" he asked as he turned around to face them.

"Iie. There was no trace of her other than this," said the reporting ninja as he extended a lumpy cloth-wrapped package to the Yondaime.

Gingerly, the blond-haired man opened the layers of cloth to reveal sand. Curious, he touched it with a finger, surprised when the sand fell away to reveal a hand. And not just any hand. He would recognize the blackened nails and tattooed rings around the fingers anywhere. It had been hacked from Sakura's arm, he could see. The flesh was not cut cleanly as it would have been from a blow in a battle. And it was bleeding still.

She had been alive when it had been removed from her body.

A ninja without a hand is heavily incapacitated, unable to do jutsu.

The sand swiftly covered the hand again, sealing it off from the world in an impenetrable cocoon. Without it, the flesh would have deteriorated.

"Was it covered in sand when you found it?" he asked, forcing his voice not to tremble as all he wanted to do was to stagger back to his chair and crash in it in tears.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. We don't know why, but Sakura-san did seem to have an affinity to sand. Maybe it was part of a protection jutsu."

He nodded slowly, taking in a shuddering breath.

"Bring me Sakura-san's team. I'll have to announce to them first that she will be declared MIA, presumably KIA."

The funeral was held on a bright but rather windy day, not long before sunset. Minato said a few words about Sakura and her life, then a few people recounted their time with her and how she had influenced their lives. Among the ninja and, in some cases, civilian populace assembled, few were as sad as Minato and Sakura's teams, Jiraiya and the dozen people she had saved who lived with her. The geisha were busy cradling the children who had been experimented on and offering them comfort that they could not feel themselves.

Finally, Minato indicated that it was time to write Sakura's name on the memorial stone. He glanced at Sakura's team, noting how they gave Kakashi the cold shoulder. In fact, ever since they had learned how Sakura had fallen, they had pretty much ignored his existence, apart from the initial spat. After that part, they had thoroughly turned their backs on him. And now, they didn't even have a body to mourn over. He looked down at the small box in his hands in which lay the sand-covered hand and Sakura's necklace. Why did things have to turn out this way?

In the relative silence, a loud cry rang out.

A figure was running toward him, the setting sun hiding his identity at his distance, followed by a second one, who had a much more relaxed pace.

"Hokage-sama, there's someone here to see you. It's–it's–"

"Very important," came a voice on the wind, cutting the panting guard off. "You guys sure did not waste any time in writing me off, eh?"

As the figure neared all of them, Minato could only observe the woman walking toward them with round eyes. Her clothes, what little remained of them, hung in tatters around her frame. Blood marred her pale skin, but what surprised him the most was the amount of scars he could see on her body. Was this how she usually looked like, under her genjutsu? The hard glint in her eyes that he could only see when she was extremely serious had reappeared, like a protection against the world.

A smirk, then: "Ya missed me?"

And everyone ran to her joyously, tears brimming in their eyes, as though the spell had been broken.

Hope was here anew.

****************

It was so tempting to leave you guys with a cliffhanger, BUT, being the nice person I am, I decided not to make you suffer. How nice am I, eh? In thanks, I WANT REVIEWS!!!! And don't forget the poll.


	36. 1 Demon and 7 Swordsmen

Okay, guys, people told me that the last chapter felt rushed. It's true. I also wrote it so that it felt that way, because I tried to incorporate Sakura's view of what happened. And I didn't like that part, but it had to be written, so…yeah, shame on me. This one is lighter, so take a breather and enjoy! By the way, I'll soon close the polls because they're going to come to use, so thanks for voting.

The silence was positively deafening. Everyone was watching, mouths agape.

_Well_, thought the Yondaime ruefully, _I can understand why._

Moments ago, Kakashi had jumped into the fray, quickly making his way to Sakura, before jerking her off to the side and running away with her. And if _that_ hadn't been surprising enough, when everyone had come to their senses and followed them, they had seen him press the white-haired ANBU to a tree and proceed to ravage her mouth with his own. Unfortunately, the blowing wind was making Sakura's long mass of hair flutter around the couple and prevented them from seeing the youth's face.

"Whoa," murmured Obito. "Who knew the ice prick had it in him?"

"I'm sorry. Kami, I'm so sorry I left you behind, Sakura-san! I didn't…I…"

Sakura hugged the rambling teenager more firmly, shushing him softly and stroking his hair gently.

"I don't hold it against you, Kakashi-kun…You merely followed my orders…I'm sorry I hurt you, I'm sorry for everything…I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

And just like that, everything was alright once again. Hope bloomed anew in the village.

"I know you want to go back to your friends, Sakura-san," began Minato as soon as they got to his office, "but I need to know what happened after your ordered Kakashi-kun to come back alone."

She glanced at the silent Hatake beside her and nodded thoughtfully.

"Hai, I suppose you would wonder about that. Very well…let's see…we got separated when they brought me to a room with other women for a session of torture. There, I learned who the woman I was looking for was, so I took action, as we had already identified the other runaway. I used my summons to get the prisoners out, but I stayed behind to get back the chakra suppressor that usually stays on my left arm. It had been torn from my arm during the last torture session. As it seals a rather dangerous part of myself away, I had to get it back. However, by that time, I had become blind and was thus ill-prepared to defend myself against the crumbling facility. Some stone slabs fell on me and managed to injure me. Fortunately, I was only slowed down and knew roughly where the table on which my suppressor had been thrown. Unfortunately, the table had fallen to the side and the suppressor was lost among the diverse torture instruments that had clattered to the floor. With the way my arms were mostly disabled, I had a hard time searching through the instruments. And my hearing was failing…That's why…"

Minato and Kakashi waited anxiously as the strong woman regained her cool. They could see a muscle twitching in her jaw, sign that she was hiding how tense she was. What had shaken her so?

"I didn't hear him coming until it was too late…"

"What happened?" asked Minato after a moment of silence.

_Pain suddenly flared in her neck, a pain she knew well. Her chakra suppressor was activating, cutting off her airway. Next to her, boots clapped on the floor. They stopped somewhere around her head and a crushing force snapped her right arm to the floor. Black surrounded her thoughts, her head getting fuzzy. Why couldn't she move? What had he done to her? Her wrist flared in unrelenting pain. Something was eating at her slowly. She had no more strength left to clench her teeth._

_A howl of pain echoed in the room. Meanwhile, the saw continued to eat at her wrist._

"He… used a saw–at least, that's what I suppose it was, judging from the way it cut me–and separated my hand from my arm. I think he wanted to get the chakra suppressor that I had finally managed to find, but was unable to unclench my fingers from it when my body tensed–you've already seen what happens when the chakra suppressor on my neck activates."

Minato nodded pensively.

"Hai, your hand was brought back to us with it still clenched in your fingers."

Sakura nodded too, sighing in relief.

"That's good, that means he wasn't able to get away with it. Anyway…he left with my hand. I don't know why he ended up leaving it behind. Maybe he dropped it or was frightened by something."

In truth, she really did not know what had happened. The ceiling had fallen on top of her, crushing her body; she had blacked out shamefully and woken up some time later at the valley at which she usually went to change into a demon. In fact, when she had awoken, she had already regained her demonic form. Had he fled because he had seen her starting to transform?

_She opened one bleary eye, wincing internally as she felt her bruised body. Even though her demonic chakra was healing her, there was only so much it could do in such short time about severe injuries. Fortunately, she could see blurry shapes and colours, meaning sight was returning to her. A good sign. And there were many moving shadows around._

"_See? I told you the tailed beast appeared here every month or two! Now can I have my reward?"_

"_Hey, watch out, it's awaking!"_

_She had not noticed that it was time for her to return to the valley, nor that she had been seen before. Such a mistake could cost her dearly._

_She tried to get up, but her injuries prevented her from moving much. She growled loudly and menacingly, warning whoever it was not to come any closer. In response, the shadows stopped moving, presumably preparing some jutsu or another. With another growl, she forced chakra in her limbs to move them and shook her head. It seemed it was all they needed to attack._

_She flicked her tails, easily dispelling the jutsu coming at her, but did not attack. She did not have it in her. She was still so bone-weary and all she wanted was to curl up into a ball and sleep into the next century. Maybe the poison was still affecting her, after all._

_Seeing that their attacks had not landed, the figures took out gigantic swords and ran at her, preparing to impale her. However, with another swipe of her tails, she sent them flying. Maybe now they would leave her alone._

_Through her lethargy, she felt cramps in her womb and panicked. Was the stress too much for her body? Was she going into early labor or losing her babies? With a roar of pain, she curled up into herself, using her tails to cover her body._

_The outsiders stopped moving and observed the strange scene. The terrifying beast had roared in pain, it seemed, although it was clearly winning against them, and had curled into a protective ball. Rapidly, the ball began to shrink, until the great beast was no more, but the shivering mass of tails did not move, hiding the body inside. Unsure if this was a trap, they approached carefully, one even going as far as touching one of the tails. To their surprise, the tails shifted aside until a beautiful woman with claws and fox ears was revealed. Her beauty was only marred by the numerous scars and open wounds her body sported. She opened her bloodstained chapped lips to speak and they heard a pain-laced voice whisper on the wind._

"_If you're planning…on killing me…you're…too late…"_

_Her barely open eye closed for good, leaving them with an unconscious demon in humanoid form._

_When she woke up, surprised at being still alive_, _she carefully examined her body and immediately noticed that her wounds had been wrapped in bandages. Why was that?_

"_Hey, guys, the lady's waking up!"_

_Her arm had been bandaged and she felt acutely the loss of her hand. And she felt her tails moving lazily around her. Shit._

_Soon, seven men surrounded her, ranging from early teens to late twenties; all of them had gigantic swords strapped on their shoulders. She was sure that they would…yep. Mist hitai-ate._

"_Hello, Seven Swordsmen of the Mist," she purred–being so long in demonic form was clearly affecting her. Why was it that she felt lust for strong men when she was in that form? Oh yeah, Narabi had said that foxes were extremely sexual creatures and that it would increase her libido. Well, she would certainly not jump on them. At least, not all at once…Whoa! Wrong chain of thoughts!_

_And yet, she was wrapped around what could be no one else than a younger Momochi Zabuza. Crap. Even her tails were trailing languidly over his tall, muscled form. The demonic chakra she was exuding kept them all rooted in place, or else she was sure they would have attacked her by now._

_At least, it appeared that she had unconsciously broken her bonds while thinking, so she was no longer bound and a prime target._

"_I suppose I should thank you for treating my wounds," she murmured, grazing his ear with her fangs. To her delight, he shuddered almost imperceptibly under her. "Although, I find it fair to warn you: I won't be used. And your rebellion against Mist will not work. If you truly want to leave Mist and find some place that won't kill you for having a kekkai genkai, maybe you should consider…another village…or none… or changing your own from the inside. Whichever you choose, Zabuza-san, I'll enjoy seeing you again."_

_With a soft kiss on his cheek, she disentangled herself from him and stepped away from the clearing, looking once over her shoulder._

"_I'm always willing to accept misfits. And Time does not go back on her words."_

_She had disappeared too fast for them to answer. She knew that even though once her oppressive demonic chakra was gone, they would be able to move once again, but after hiding it, they would not be able to find her. After all, she had lived as an S-class nuke-nin for some time; she knew how to hide her trail._

"I escaped and met the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Don't worry, they don't know who I am. Anyway, after an altercation–minimally violent, I assure you–I found my way back here."

Minato was silent for a long moment.

"Kakashi said that you knew the man who tortured you. Apparently, one of his cellmates told him that you knew what to expect from the man. How did you know him, Sakura-san? Were you in contact with him when you were a nuke-nin?"

For a brief moment, he could see in her eye an inexpressible amount of grief and saw her lose her composure, but in the blink of an eye, she went back to being the aloof woman he knew. Had he not been a highly-trained ninja, he could have thought he had imagined it.

"Hai, I knew him. I spent seven month in captivity in his "tender care" after he put a chakra suppressor on my neck."

Wow, this chapter was hard to write! What do you think of it? Please review and don't forget the poll! It's getting pretty important!


	37. Of Skills and Teachings

Kakashi and Minato had gone rigid.

"Why didn't you dispose of him when you had a chance?!" exclaimed Minato, Kakashi agreeing with him in the background.

Sakura whirled around, livid, nostrils flaring. This was harder to admit than not looking at young Kisame when she'd been surrounded by the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.

"You think I didn't want to, Hokage-sama?! I am, first and foremost, a Konoha kunoichi! I put the mission before my own desires or beliefs because I would have compromised it if I'd killed him when I first saw him!"

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and not snap at her Hokage again.

"Could I please have my hand? I want to reattach it to my arm as soon as possible. I'll have my report written for you tomorrow. I'll take my leave now."

She left the two ninja alone in the darkening room.

"Now what, sensei?" asked Kakashi quietly.

Minato coursed a hand through his hair, sighing heavily.

"Now, I'm going to put a price on _that guy_'s head. I'll need you to give me as precise a description as possible. I want this guy caught alive."

"I assume you'll want me to copy his chakra by using my white chakra."

"Hai. This man must be found as soon as possible. I fear we might not have much time."

Kakashi, perplex, eyed his teacher pensively.

"What do you mean, sensei?"

"Forget it, Kakashi-kun," answered the Yondaime, waving the question aside. "Some things are better left unsaid."

Even though he did not like to stay in the dark, the teenager knew better than to question his teacher, who was also conveniently his village's leader.

Tracking down her team had been rather easy. In fact, she did not have to track them down. The three boys had their ears pressed against the Hokage's office door and quickly straightened when she came out. From the corner of her eye, she could see Minato's secretary on the floor, bound by ninja wires and gagged. The woman was glaring daggers at the trio and wiggled on the floor, trying to get out of her bonds unsuccessfully. Raising an eyebrow, Sakura looked at the top of her student's heads as they hugged her to death before, embarrassed, they let her go with darkened cheeks.

"I missed you too, guys," she said softly.

"Why exactly are we at the hospital when you said that you would give us some training?" asked Yuu skeptically.

He and his other two teammates were following Sakura as she led them in the hospital, the box containing her hand safely tucked under her arm.

"I'm looking for Rin-chan. She should be working here. I need her to stitch my hand back to my arm."

The teenagers looked at one another uncertainly.

"Errr…Sakura-sensei…Not to be rude or anything, but I don't think Rin-san is skilled enough to do that. In fact…I doubt any medic other than the legendary Tsunade-hime could do it. After all, it's been some time since it was cut off, right?"

Even to his own ears, Yuu's words sounded crude and harsh. It was not like he was out to depress his teacher, he just felt that it was unrealistic to expect Rin to be able to do anything. However, his teacher once again managed to surprise all of them.

"I know. However, _I_ can, and although I can't use my healing chakra on myself, I can manipulate Rin's for the surgery."

She sounded smug, and they knew better than to question her abilities.

"This should interest you, I think. It has to do with chakra control, mostly, but also with chakra strings and what you could refer either as mind manipulation or hypnosis. Now, where is that girl? Hm…Ah, there! Rin-chan!"

At her call, the young girl looked up from her notepad, her face stretching into a smile.

"Sakura-san! How are you? I didn't expect to see you here! At least, not yet. I would have thought that you would have enjoyed a night with your friends at home…or at a bar."

Sakura let out a laugh.

"That's actually not a bad idea. Maybe I'll do that, once my body is complete once more. Now, as it's night, I don't think you have too much to do, am I right?"

"Er…Hai, that's right, but…"

"So can you lend me some of your time? I'm quite certain you'll find it very interesting. You might learn some tricks, too. Come, come, I think this is a lesson you won't forget anytime soon."

Everyone followed the white-haired woman into a side room and watched as she put her box on a bed before sitting on the mattress. She carefully opened the box, getting out her sand-covered hand with a small smile and closing her chakra suppressor on her upper arm.

"Sakura-sensei, is it really safe to touch that sand? According to Hokage-sama, it contained large quantities of chakra and it seemed to move independently," pointed out Kyouya.

"Don't worry, this sand could never cause me any harm," said Sakura as she put a finger to the hand and caressed it almost lovingly. Immediately, the sand retreated from the hand and crept out onto her finger, before slowly trailing on her arm and covering her body, much to the four teenagers' horror.

Sakura closed her eyes, feeling the sand cover every inch of her body to assess her injuries.

_I'm fine. I'm fine, see? Don't worry, Shukaku._

However, once the sand had covered all of her body, it did not retract into the bottle on her necklace, but rather stayed on her skin like a second one. So the demon was getting more protective.

"…Er…Sakura-san, why is the sand… er… covering you?" asked Rin uncertainly.

"It's a protection. While it covers me, nothing can penetrate my skin. Now that we've established that, let's get back to business. Rin-chan, just look me in the eye and relax. I'm gonna direct your chakra and your hands. Don't fight it."

The young girl nodded and stared straight at the emerald orb.

"Ready?"

She nodded resolutely.

"Alright, here I go."

Suddenly, a foreign feeling invaded the young girl and she had to fight against her instincts in order not to push it away. She saw her hands move and pick up the severed tattooed hand resting in the older woman's lap. Blood flowed down Sakura's stub as she opened the healing wound, then her cool medical chakra flowed from her fingertips and began to slowly mend the torn flesh with precision and without wavering as she normally would have.

Yuu, Tetsuo and Kyouya looked on, fascinated, as Sakura expertly used chakra strings to manipulate Rin's body, leaving the younger woman completely at her mercy. They also knew that, somehow, she was also controlling her chakra, though they had no idea how, as she had used no hand sign. However, whatever technique she was using seemed rather effective: the young medic was easily stitching the mangled flesh together, until it looked as though it had never been separated before, leaving only the faintest scar.

As Sakura flexed her hand to test it, smiling in satisfaction, Kyouya asked her what everyone else had been wondering.

"Sensei, is there any chance of you teaching us how to do that? And how did you control Rin-san without hand signs? I don't understand."

Sakura nodded, leaning against the backboard of the hospital bed, and leaned her head against her arm in order to not bump it against the wall.

"Well, of course I could teach you, but you need certain basic skills before that. For example, I used chakra strings to control Rin-chan's body, which can also be used to set traps. Imagine you took out a guard, but that another comes by without notice. With chakra strings, you could manipulate the body to move as you wish and thus diminish the risk of the other guard finding out his companion is dead, but it is difficult to make a body move naturally, so you need a lot of practice before you attempt that. Or you could manipulate an enemy's body to attack his allies. Many people hesitate when faced with such a situation. Now, imagine you do that while the enemy is not dead. The problem is that now he could fight against your strings. All he has to do is disrupt your chakra flow and he's free. Thus, it is imperative that your chakra control is better than his. Well, that was just a few examples. You might as well tie your strings to flying weapons so that you can tug them back if the enemy sidesteps them. Anyway, in this case, Rin did not put up a fight against the chakra strings, which made my task that much easier. Is it clear that far?"

The four entranced teens nodded.

"Okay. About controlling her chakra without hand signs… Let's go back to the basics. Do you know why we use hand signs? It's quite simple, actually. It's to mould our chakra in order for it to do exactly what we want. Each hand sign has a particular significance and, when put in conjunction of others, affects them and is affected by them in a certain way. I won't bore you with the details, but know that to create a jutsu, if you don't know the theory behind hand signs, you are bound to have a hard time achieving your goal," she chuckled, thinking of Naruto and his Oroike no jutsu. "Although it _is_ possible."

Sakura shifted on the bed, thinking of how to explain the next part.

"Well, the jutsu I used is one I invented. The main difficulty is that it requires perfect chakra control. I was inspired by the Yamanaka's interrogation techniques. They are well-known for being able to get into your head and controlling your body if they want to. Well, this is pretty much the same thing, except my consciousness doesn't leave my body, which is the main weak point of their technique. I simply modulate my chakra so that a small part of it enters the recipient's body and can then control his own chakra. You can try it without perfect chakra control, but the person's chakra would overpower yours easily. Of course, it is possible to control the person's body with this jutsu, but it requires much more important amounts of chakra to make muscles move, especially if you are not familiar with the way each muscle responds to stimuli. It is trickier, let's say, because there are more variables you have to deal with, such as muscle mass or the other person's efficiency at chakra manipulation. You're better off using chakra strings. Now, I also can use this technique to show my memories to someone, or I can view the other's memories. Once again, this is tricky. Anyway, in this case, it is mostly a question of intent, concentration and chakra control. As I am used to the jutsu and know exactly what I need my chakra to do, I don't need hand signs to use it, although it certainly would be easier to do so. But, well, I had only one hand at my disposition at the time, and one-handed hand signs aren't really as efficient as two-handed ones. And this is that. If you brats want to learn that technique, you'll have to improve your chakra control."

With that said, Sakura jumped from the bed and rolled her shoulders to ease the tension.

"Now that the boring teaching stuff is over with, how about we go celebrate my return, eh? You guys certainly need to learn how to drink!"

Oroike no jutsu: Sexy Technique

So, how was it? I know this chapter was somewhat boring, but it had to be written, 'cause there are pretty important things in there. Anyway, next chappie will be more interesting, I promise you! And you'll get to see Kyuubi soon… so review, ne?


	38. Bars, Clubs and Alcohol

Sorry I'm late! I had a night out yesterday and I totally forgot to post this before I went. I hope you'll still enjoy it. This is pretty much the calm before the storm, but it's pretty entertaining and it gives insight to Sakura's past among the Akatsuki.

The bar was crowded; it was clear from the raucous noises heard on the street. The group, which had significantly gown since Sakura had decided to kidnap Rin from the hospital, was led by the kunoichi into the all-shinobi bar hidden from civilians by a genjutsu. As soon as they entered, applause and catcalls rose in the bar to greet the white-haired woman.

"Hey, get us some sake, this is a night for celebration!"

Of course, many men were just happy that the beautiful geisha living with Sakura had followed her to the bar. Thus, what was commonly referred to as "the harem" was making every hot-blooded male around give them their undivided attention. Of course, the geisha were only interested in Sakura and were draped over her in a manner that could only be described as sinful. And of course, everyone knew Sakura wasn't into women, but that had never discouraged them before and wasn't about to.

"Now, guys, you have to learn how to drink," said Sakura to her team as the bartender put cups of sake in front of them. "When you come home from a mission, you've gotta celebrate by having a night out and drinking sake. That's tradition. You can't be piss drunk after having only a few cups when you're older, so you have to begin to get used to drinking. I should have taken you out sooner, but now is as good a time as any to introduce you to the wonders of alcohol."

There was a pyramid of upturned sake cups in front of Sakura, yet she barely felt a buzz. She did take after Tsunade-shishou for more than just her gigantic strength and explosive temper. Next to her, Yuu, Tetsuo and Kyouya were well on their way to getting drunk. She knew without a doubt that they would have one hell of a hangover the next day.

"Ne, sensei, didja go drinking too when you were a nukenin?" asked Tetsuo drunkenly.

Normally, Sakura would have tensed at the question and changed the subject, but she was tipsy enough to not care. Besides, it was fine if she didn't reveal anything that was top secret, right?

"I sure did, 'cept it was with S-class criminals. Well, I can't speak, I was one for a while. Anyway, when we entered a bar, let me tell you this, people gave us a _wide_ berth. T'was pretty funny, too," she mused, playing with her sake cup and watching the alcohol swish around in it. "The guys who were with me were all the best at what they did, which is probably why they defected in the first place. They didn't like taking orders from those they saw as inferiors. That also meant that people were loath to attack us when we travelled. People aren't stupid; they don't want to get into a doomed fight and get dismembered, you see."

She finished with a small nod at herself and downed her cup, upturning it and adding it to the base of her pyramid. Around her, people were riveted to her lips as they poured out such confessions.

"And did you ever get drunk around them?"

The question had come from Yuu.

"Well, yeah, but not that often because I have a high tolerance for alcohol and because no matter how strong you are, when you're a missing nin, you _always_ have people out after your hide, so you always gotta be on edge. Fortunately, my companions and I were careful and there was always one of us who didn't get drunk enough to pass out. Most of the time, we stopped drinking once we felt a buzz. They liked drinking with me, 'cause with my chakra, I could sober them up pretty quickly and they didn't have to experience a hangover the next day," she chuckled heartily. "And I could give them the best massages ever when I infused my hands with my healing chakra. Or so they said."

"Say, sensei, those times you were drunk with them, did anything ever happen? Anything embarrassing?" teased Tetsuo.

She thought for a moment, sipping yet another cup of sake, leaving everyone on edge around her.

"Well, there was that one time. We were at a seedy bar and almost all of us were there. Weeeeell, the only ones who weren't there were the only other girl of the gang, because she didn't like places like those, and the Boss, who was probably screwing her as we drank."

She finished another cup, smacked her lips jovially and put it on her pyramid. Around her, people began to laugh.

"Hm, so among us was a guy that took care of all our finances, and he was not inclined to spend money. At all. The two of us always worked together to find the most lucrative missions that had the best ratio money per person per time needed to accomplish it and he was...er…somewhat pissed that we had stopped at a bar and were enjoying ourselves. 'Specially me, 'cause I had a better tolerance for alcohol than the others. Aaanyway," she drawled, "we went into the bar a bit before eleven o'clock, and had been drinking since. The bar got more and more crowded until, at midnight, the show began."

She chuckled into her cup cheerfully, clearly remembering the night.

"What event, Sakura-san?" asked Obito curiously.

Sakura snickered, downing her cup of sake and looked at the teenager with mirth dancing in her eye as she drawled out: "The strippers' show, kiddo."

The Uchiha spluttered, getting red in the face, as everyone laughed at his reaction.

"Yeah…Our treasurer was grumbling in his corner that the men would spend all their money on the strippers and that there was so much cash he could make easily without risks in the room, without even having to go the trouble of killing anyone, if he henged into a woman."

At that, everyone laughed even louder than before.

"You know, that was pretty much the reaction we all had at the time, too. Except I was well on my way to getting drunk and I should have kept my mouth shut."

She shook her head ruefully, remembering how Kakuzu had looked insulted that everyone was laughing at him.

"Why? What did you say, sensei?" asked Kyouya curiously, people nodding around the group.

"Weeeelllll…I told him that he couldn't imitate a woman's sexy gait to save his life."

More laughs erupted around.

"Wait, you told an _S-class nuke-nin_ that he couldn't imitate a woman to save his life?" asked Rin incredulously.

"I told him he couldn't imitate a woman's _sexy gait_ to save his life. That's not the same thing," reprimanded the white-haired woman. "But yeah, that's basically what I did."

"And he didn't kill you on the spot?"

She thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"Nope, although he did send a kunai flying at me. Or maybe it was two. Can't remember too well, my memories are somewhat muddled from there on, so much of what happened next was recounted to me by the other guys."

"That's the same thing as trying to kill you, sensei," pointed Kyouya out helpfully, but Sakura only waved the objection aside.

"Details, details. He knew they would miss, I'm better than that. And I _did_ evade his attack. So he grumbled that I couldn't do any better anyway."

Everyone held their breath.

"So I took it upon myself to prove him the contrary. … Yeah, I _was_ drunk. At the time, I was using a jutsu in permanence to hide my scars and tattoos, so I looked pretty much like any other civilian woman. Except for the white hair and green eyes, but everyone knows men always go for the exotic-looking women, so I decided to keep my hair white. Well, apparently, I took it as a dare and left the guys for a bit, leaving them with my weapons. They didn't object much because I'm just as dangerous without weapons as I am with them. They don't know how I managed to convince the manager to let me go onto the scene, and I can't really remember, but I'm not sure I want to," she said with a grimace.

She signaled for the bartender to pour her another cup and waited for it before she continued.

"Soooo?" asked Yuu as Sakura lost herself in her memories, her eyes glazing over slightly.

"Hm? Oh, well, I went onto the scene. Mind you, I was still dressed at the time."

Obito surged up once again. "What do you mean, "still dressed"? And what about this "at the time" shit?"

Someone clamped his hand over his mouth to keep him from interrupting Sakura again and waited for her to keep talking.

"So I walk onto the stage in my long coat and high-heeled boots, and guys in the bar begin to catcall as I slowly open my coat and let it pool on the floor. Then, looking at the men with sultry eyes, I kick it aside and continue to walk, swaying my hips from side to side. At one point, I begin to undo my chest wrappings, much to the pleasure of the men. When they finally fall to the floor, I let my hair cover my breasts and angle my head to the side, giving my audience a coy look. I walk up to a dancing pole and lean against it, bracing my hands on it above my head as I ground against it. All the while, men are putting bills in my boots. I distance myself from the pole and sashay out of my short skirt, leaving me in only my boots and a tong. I continue to walk around, swinging my hips and shaking my ass and breasts once in a while for the pleasure of those men around me. Then, when I'm at the end of the path walk, I keep my eyes on my wide-eyed companions, hook my thumbs under my tong and lowly pull it down my legs. I lift a leg in the air, swirling my underwear around my boot, and then I catch it in my fingers and continue to twirl it like you would a whip. And then I step off the path walk, and I walk up to our treasurer and I push them in his pocket while I whisper in his ear: "That enough of a show for you?""

There were groans around her as she flashed her friends a wicked grin.

"Apparently, I plopped into one of the other guys' lap and pulled out a bill from my boot and asked for sake. While waiting for it, I took out the other bills and gave them to our treasurer so that he stopped pouting. That guy would sell his soul for money, I tell you. Well, he _was_ ready to forsake his manhood for money, after all. One of the guys took it upon himself to go gather my clothes and the guy whose lap I was sitting in took off his shirt and forced me into it so that the bartender stopped ogling my breasts. Him and the other guys around. After all, kunoichi have great bodies. My companions were always pretty protective of me, so they would not have hesitated to kill those perverts or carve their eyes out for looking at me or even emasculate them."

Guys cupped their manhood, as though to protect themselves from those protective nuke-nin, even though they weren't there.

"I don't remember the rest of the night, but I suspect they dragged me off to the inn and put me into bed not long after that. Anyway, the next morning, I woke up still dressed in that oversized shirt. On top of its proprietor's very hot, hard and naked chest." _And blue, too_, she added mentally as she remembered Kisame's large and muscled torso.

"Did you sleep with him?" exclaimed Tetsuo.

"Nah, he was too much of a gentleman to take advantage of me that way. Not that he could have. I probably would have castrated him if he'd tried. In fact, when I asked him why I was sleeping in the same bed as him, he told me that I had refused to let go of him and that I had practically molested him in my drunken state. Which was why he had a raging hard on. Apparently, I wiggle in my sleep. I must have been still slightly drunk, because I didn't even think twice before putting my hand down his pants and applying chakra to my fingers as I trailed them down his shaft. He was so close that I only had to cup his balls to make him explode. Of course, if I hadn't taken him by surprise, I doubt he'd have left me do that. As it was, I leaned back against his relaxed chest, kissed him on the cheek and told him that I was still sleepy and to not wake me up for a while and that if he still had a boner when I woke up next, I'd help him release as payment for letting me sleep on his chest."

She grinned, clearly remembering the scene.

"I tell you, perfect chakra control is a blessing in bed. It makes even hard-headed men lose all control. Very useful on seduction missions for men who are hard eggs to crack and way too much control over their body. And Kami knows he had control. And was well-endowed."

All listening males groaned, trying to imagine what it would be like to have her use her perfect chakra control on them.

"And what happened when you woke up next?" asked a curious Rin.

"Well, the other guys apparently decided to make sure he wasn't being…untoward with me and opened the door brutally. We both jumped up, ready to fight, when we heard the door slamming against the wall, but when we saw who it was, we merely lounged back onto the bed. Needless to say, they weren't very happy. They began to scream at my pillow that he was a pervert and that he was taking advantage of me. I was not in the mood, so I forced him to lie back down and told him to act as a pillow once again. Then I turned my head to look at the others and told them to get out if they didn't want me to use my chakra for something other than sexual pleasure. So they left me to cuddle happily and when they came to warn us that we were leaving, I was in a considerably better mood. Aaaand…that's it, guys!"

She stood up, ready to go home. As she paid for her drinks, Rin stage-whispered: "You _do_ know that Jiraiya-san has written down every last thing you've said, right?"

Yuu nodded drunkenly, adding: "Don't be surprised if your story ends up in one of his perverted novels."

The green-eyed kunoichi smirked, laughing: "Wouldn't have it any other way. Come on, guys, let's get you to bed. Tomorrow's yet another day to fight through."

So, you guys liked it? I had so much fun writing it. I didn't know what I was going to write until I sat down in front of my computer and began writing. Although I had the scene of Sakura stripping in a bar in my head for a while. Review, ne? ^^


	39. Hangovers and Bad News

Okay, so first, I'd like to apologize to all of you. It was not my intention to keep you wanting. Due to renovations, I came home one day, went to the study, and went all "WTF?". There were only a few cables left, my computer was nowhere to be seen, so forget about an internet connection, blablabla. Fortunately, we began to replace everything, but it took longer than expected, thus the lateness. If I'd known it would take this long, I would have put my documents on my USB key beforehand. Anyway, after this long rambling, there you go. To compensate everyone, I'll post another chappie probably around Wednesday, and it'll be twice as long as my usual ones!

Sunlight filtered through the windows, eliciting groans of pain from the motionless bodies strewn all around the bedrooms and living room. Surprisingly, the only able-bodied person among them was the one who had had the most to drink the previous night.

"Get up, sleepy heads!" Sakura chirped happily, bustling in the kitchen.

Soon enough, people began trailing into the kitchen, rubbing at their eyes, heads or bellies.

"How can you be so chipper in the morning after drinking as you did last night?" complained Tetsuo as he took a seat at the table.

"Practice," shrugged Sakura. "Don't complain, you'll be good at this one day, too, if you, er, practice. Practice makes perfect, ne? Come on, eat your breakfast. Not my fault you didn't remember the way to your house."

Everyone ate heartily and Sakura let her team members relax for the day to nurse their hangover. Even though she had abated most of the symptoms, they still felt sluggish and were not as sharp as usual. Training would not have been any use. Instead, she sent her wards to the Academy, for those who were old enough to go, and spent her morning with the geisha to take care of the others and to generally enjoy the day. Soon enough, noon came around and she went to the Academy to take the kids home to eat.

The kids were not outside yet when she arrived, so she waited for them by a tree, feeling her breath rattle in her chest. Now that she was alone, she could relax and not pretend that she was fine. Her symptoms had worsened exponentially once her younger self had been born, and she could only guess that it was because she was a paradox. Only one of them should exist at the same time, and as the intruder, she was the one suffering. Narabi had come by and told her that unless her mates marked her once again–the mates of this time, mind you–she would perish. The foxes knew the poor state she was in and tried all they could to help her, but she had already accepted her death.

"You're sick."

Sakura smiled grimly at the young voice and looked up. Sitting in the tree above her was none other than Uchiha Itachi. She wondered for a second why he was there, before remembering that as a prodigy, he had to have begun going to the Academy much younger than normal people.

"Hai, I am. Keep it a secret, ne?" she asked as the kid jumped down and crouched in front of her, giving her a look of intense scrutiny.

"You're not just sick. You're dying."

It wasn't a question.

"Hai."

"How long do you have?"

"Who knows? What about you, Uchiha-kun? Aren't you supposed to be in class?" she shrugged like it was no big deal.

The child shook his head.

"Iie. I finished the exercise perfectly before everyone else, so sensei let me leave. Normally, okaa-san would come get me for dinner, but she's too busy with otouto, so I was going to leave alone, and then I saw you."

"How about I take you home, then?" offered Sakura. "My wards should be arriving shortly anyway."

The young onyx-eyed boy thought for a moment, then said: "That would be acceptable."

As they waited in companionable silence, he watched curiously as she unraveled a scroll and revealed a plethora of dishes.

"That's a strange array of food, Sakura-san," pointed the young child.

"Well, once upon a time, I knew guys with whom it was better be safe than sorry, so I always carried their favorite foods in case I had to bribe them or try to calm them. Worked like a charm, really. Let me tell you something: the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Such is the way to control them, too.

Humming gently, she picked up what she was looking for.

"Here, this is for you."

In his hands, he held a whole box of pocky. Watching his eyes alight with excitement for his favorite sweet, Sakura couldn't help but feel a strange warmth at the sight. She crouched next to him and said: "Guess what, Uchiha-kun? I bet your otouto would love tomatoes. When he's old enough to eat them, if you want to make him happy, give him some. I guarantee you that'll make him very happy."

Surprisingly, he didn't argue and said in a small, too-cute-for-his-own-good voice: "I suppose it'd be alright if you called me Itachi."

Whoa. She had actually gained his respect? She knew that most people who called him Itachi-kun, or worse, Itachi-chan, did so without his permission and it only served to annoy him. She had not tried to downplay his intelligence, yet had not expected anything more of him than he was willing and able to give.

The smile she gave him was genuine.

"Well, I'm happy to make your acquaintance, Itachi-kun."

She hesitated for a moment, wondering whether or not she should warn him, then decided that she would at least give him a chance to change his future.

"Jealousy and envy can make a person do nasty things, Itachi-kun. If nothing else, remember that, okay? Power should never be a person's goal."

He looked at her shrewdly. Power had always been his goal. Or rather, his father's goal. His family's goal.

"Then what do you think should be a person's goal?"

She closed her eye and leaned her head back against the tree trunk.

"I don't hold all the answers, Itachi-kun. I can only try to find them by myself and I can't speak for anyone else, but I think what life is about is living each moment at its fullest. Especially for us ninja, because our life is shorter and we live constantly in danger. As for me, with the time I have left, I want to make my friends happy and save them if they're in danger. Each time I cheat death, I don't do it for me. What maintains me alive when I'm on the brink of death is the thought of my friends and how I can't die yet, because they need me. I know that eventually, my injuries will get the better of me and I won't wake up from the operation table. But until then, I will live for them and for Konoha, so that one day war ends peacefully and people can live freely."

He was saved from answering when kids trailed happily out of the Academy doors.

Immediately, some of them spotted the two of them and quieted. Obviously, the genius and the feared kunoichi instilled respect in them. They observed the duo, whispering in groups. Only a few kids approached them cautiously. Then some children stepped out of the building, spotted them almost immediately and ran to them.

"Sakura-san!"

"Sakura-onee-san!"

She caught them in her arms, swinging them around, and put them down. A little behind them, quiet, was Tenzou. Wordlessly, she opened her arms in a clear invitation. Needing no more encouragement, the child encircled her with his tiny arms. She took him in her arms, kissing him on the cheek, and looked at the others.

"Ready to go home for dinner, kiddos?"

Sakura left Itachi at the entrance of the Uchiha compound, where the child turned around for a moment, bowed politely, and disappeared behind the doors. As they walked home, Sakura spied a sparrow flying above them and mentally groaned. Couldn't she have a moment of peace?

Apparently not. An ANBU appeared in front of her, startling the kids, yet she was only annoyed.

"Sakura-san, Hokage-sama wants to have a word with you."

She nodded calmly and told the kunoichi that she would be by soon.

A quick discussion with the kids made it clear that they were excited at the prospect of seeing the Hokage Tower. As soon as they came to its doors and saw the ninja guarding them, at which point Sakura nodded to them and they nodded back, the kunoichi told the kids to hang on and began to walk up the wall, much to their enjoyment, if their cries of joy were anything to judge by. Soon enough, they came to the window and entered unceremoniously. Minato didn't look too surprised at her entrance. Without a word, Sakura ushered the kids out the door and fixed the dragon secretary with her nastiest glare.

"If there's anything wrong with them when I come back, and I mean _anything_, even one missing hair, I'm gonna make your life a living hell. Got it?"

The woman deflated, her plans thwarted, nipped in the bud by the kunoichi. She scowled, looking at the children and knowing that she couldn't be overtly mean to them, or else the ANBU woman would know. On second thought, who knows what kind of surveillance jutsu she had? It was safer to simply ignore the little blighters.

Sakura closed the door behind her, satisfied that the secretary would stay put.

"You wanted to see me, Minato-san?" she asked politely.

"Hai. As you know, Kushina is going to give birth to my son soon. I want you to help her deliver the baby. I'd consider it a favor if you would do it. There's no medic I trust more than you, Sakura-san. If you can stitch back a missing limb and repair a crushed body so well that no one is able to tell that it was once injured so badly, I'm sure you could handle delivering a baby."

That wasn't what she had expected to hear. In fact, she had thought he would ask her to go on another mission or something along those lines. Something dangerous, at least.

"Hai, I'll do it."

Minato nodded thankfully, then looked at her seriously.

"Sakura-san, while you're here, I might as well tell you that my spies have warned me of a terrible danger that awaits Konoha. There have been rumors of Kyuubi's attack on Konoha. Hopefully, my son will be born before then. If he isn't, I expect you to be on the battlefield with us."

There it was. And yet she had known all along that this day would come.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I shall do your bidding."

But that didn't make her heart feel any lighter, knowing that if she'd found Kyuubi before then, she possibly could have stopped his attack on Konoha. She could only try to minimize the losses. For one moment, she closed her eye. She had three weeks left to live before the attack. Three weeks, for she was sure her confrontation with Kyuubi would not go smoothly. Without a doubt, if it came to it, she would die to stop him from crushing Konoha and condemning Naruto to a life without parents.

Dun dun dun! And here we are, at the eve of the epic battle! Finally, eh? No worries, I intend to make it an awesome chapter, so you guys quickly review!


	40. Danzo and Kushina

Okay, guys, this was _hard_ to write, but I think it didn't turn out too bad. And while it's not twice as long as usual, it's close to. Well, let me know. Next chapter is the confrontation with Kyuubi! Aren't you all happy?

The three days had gone by too quickly for her taste. It seemed that moments ago she had been staring at the memorial stone, wondering exactly how many names would be added to it. And now, she was waiting among many other ninja, waiting for the tailed beast to appear from over the horizon. It felt strange for her to be surrounded by those men and women she barely knew, instead of the ones she was used to, back in her time. She had even gotten used to waiting like this with the Akatsuki members. And now, her team mates, Yuu, Kyouya and Tetsuo were not at her side like their older counterparts had been. That left her strangely empty, although she had known that the young boys would not be allowed on the battlefield. Instead, whereas genin were busy getting everyone into the caves, her trio had been assigned to care for Kushina, who was still very much pregnant. They were to send word for her if Kushina went into labor. She hoped she would give birth soon, so that she could have enough time to stop Kyuubi before he did too much damage.

Just then, a message came for her. In less time than it would take a leaf to fall to the ground, she was gone and running. The shinobi around her looked at where she had stood bemusedly. She _was_ fast.

Something was not right. She had specifically told her team members to send one of them to warn her when Kushina's contractions became less than half an hour apart each and to take care of her until then. A sparrow delivering a message that they had everything under control and that she didn't need to come was decidedly abnormal.

The hospital room was mostly silent, but even "mostly silent" was suspicious. Kyouya was usually quiet, used to listening to people, silently analyzing their personality and their every move. However, Yuu and Tetsuo were more rambunctious. She should have heard them. Thus the reason why she was spying on the hospital room, watching a heaving Kushina and a man hovering above her, significantly worsening her internal bleeding. Where were her boys? Her eyes rove across the room, spying for any indication, until she saw a foot lying behind the bed. That, and a steadily growing puddle of blood.

_Oh no you didn't_, she seethed internally, refusing to let panic take control of her.

She quickly went through the hand signs needed for her time-slowing jutsu. Fortunately, the man had not spotted her yet and she was not disturbed. However, as soon as she finished the hand signs and he felt the chakra flare, he turned around and she saw the scarred face of Danzo.

_Should've killed you long ago, you bastard. But I'm gonna fix my mistake!_

His sharingan eye was uncovered and saw each glass shard perfectly as she jumped through the window and landed on the floor in a crouch. He had heard of her, but was unprepared for the utter rage he saw in her eye. Her lips were curled up, baring her teeth in an angry snarl and he felt as though he was looking at a mother beast whose babies he had just murdered. And maybe that's exactly what it was. The three boys and the woman were, according to his intel, almost like family. He didn't know what the jutsu she had used was, but it could not beat his sharingan. Or so he'd thought. He could see her every move, but was too slow to counter her blows. His body could not move as fast as hers. And then he realized. Her jutsu must be giving her extra speed, but as he hadn't seen her use it, he couldn't copy it. She was smart.

"Stop now, Sakura-san. This is an order from a Council member!"

If anything, it seemed it enraged her even more. Her tone was freezing when she spat: "And this is my order from the _Hokage_, Danzo: I must protect Kushina-san! And I clearly saw you trying to kill her, so that's mutiny on your part and it entitles me to kill you… _And _you murdered my students, my family. Just for that I would kill you."

Of course, Danzo did not understand what she said because to him, everything she did seemed accelerated, but he understood the gist of it. She was pissed and she was out to kill him.

With deliberate slowness, she took her ANBU mask and slid it onto her face. With it, she sealed any feeling other than anger and vindictiveness. Her sole purpose now was to get rid of the threat, whatever the cost may be. Then she unsheathed her tanto and rushed at the Elder.

Kyouya was slowly bleeding to death. He was dizzy from blood loss and his body felt so heavy. He was sluggish and could only feel sorry that he, Tetsuo and Yuu could not protect Kushina as they were ordered too. They had failed miserably. As his vision darkened even more, he saw a form jump lithely over the bed, tanto in hand. As the woman attached herself to the wall next to him, some of the blood dripping from her blade fell on his face and he saw the mask she wore.

_Sensei…_

Now that she was here, everything would be fine. His eyes closed and unconsciousness claimed him.

Fighting in close quarters just as she was doing was not conducive to using ninjutsu, so she had to rely on taijutsu. Fortunately, she was quite adept at it, so she had no problem evading Danzo's blows. She simply had to focus on his feet. Simple enough. She twirled her blade in the air and swiped diagonally at the Elder, but he jumped out of the way, straight into the path of a chakra-laden fist. What was the use of having superior strength if you couldn't touch your enemy, after all?

She watched in satisfaction as he slumped against the opposite wall. Alright, so she _could _have used more chakra, but she didn't want to alert anyone to their presence in the hospital room and she had a feeling she would need all the chakra she had later on. Quickly, her mind devised a plan that she knew would make him tremble. After all, most ninja feared nothing more so than the thought of a dead enemy coming to get you. And as with his sharingan, he would easily see through any genjutsu she put up…

_Sorry, guys…_

Danzo quickly got up, only to find himself surrounded by the bloody corpses of his victims. His sharingan flared to life, but he could not see if he was caught in a genjutsu. Frowning, he used the seal to dispel the genjutsu, but even as he muttered "Kai", one of the teens snatched him by his clothes and rammed his knee in his stomach. Immediately after, another one punched him in the face, effectively breaking his nose and sending pain radiating from between his brows as blood covered his chin. Through teary eyes, he saw an elbow coming at him and slid down to evade it, but he was hoisted to his feet in the next moment and came face to face with a dead man's eyes.

"You killed me," accused the dead Tetsuo, and he could only watch in morbid fascination as blood continued to pour from the teenager's chest where a kunai was sticking out prominently.

"I–"

The teen, however, cut him off before he could say any more.

"You killed me, and now I'm going to kill you."

"And me," said Kyouya as he stood at the left of the dead Tetsuo.

"And me," added Yuu as he came to stand at the right of the duo.

An in unison, they said, gazes unwavering, "We're all going to kill you."

And he could do nothing to stop the once-dead shinobi from stabbing him over and over again, and his nightmare was real, and their chests rose and fell with every breath they took, and they blinked as his blood stained their clothes and _Kami why were they alive and why was this real?_

Sakura was glad the man had put up silencing wards on the room. That made it so that his terrified screams of agony could not be heard outside the room. As she glanced at Kushina, she frowned, and manipulated her chakra strings so that Yuu cut Danzo's vocal cords. She would have liked to torture him until he was insane and/or begging for death –she wasn't too difficult on that point. Using chakra strings to control her dead students' limbs and pushing her own chakra into their bodies to make them react as normal living people would was difficult under normal circumstances, but doing it while she was healing Kushina while under her time-slowing jutsu was a whole other challenge. Fortunately, she practically _lived_ for challenges and she was skilled enough to achieve it. And her anger kept her grounded. With such an amount of rage focused into it, her technique was destructive. Danzo had no chance of escaping. And he didn't.

Finally, she was able to reverse the damage the Council Elder had done to Kushina, and the woman opened her eye, panting less harshly than before. At the sight of her blood-stained mask, presumably, she shivered and very nearly flinched. Sakura stopped her movements and slowly slid the mask to the side of her head, recovering the humanity she had shed when she had put it on. The redhead visibly relaxed when she recognized the other woman who dispelled her time-slowing jutsu.

"Sakura-san…Danzo-sama, he…my baby…"

Sakura quickly appeased her worries.

"Not to worry, your baby is fine. I think Danzo only intended to make it look like you died during childbirth as some women do."

Okay, so that was a little crude, but no use sugarcoating the truth, right? Beside, the woman was a kunoichi too, so she had to be used to worse things.

Kushina looked at the three dead shinobi, uncertainty clear in her glance.

"Sakura-san…How are they alive? I clearly saw Danzo kill them… They were dead, yet now they're not… How did you resurrect them?" she asked fearfully.

Blinking, Sakura turned to look at the three figures. For a moment, she had forgotten them.

"Ah…Iie, Kushina-san, they're still dead, I just…manipulated their bodies with chakra strings, look."

She moved her toes and the bodies sat down on the floor, back to the wall.

"It's more difficult to do that with your toes, but I kinda had my fingers busy here. As soon as your baby is delivered safely, though, I'll resurrect them."

That earned her an astonished look. With a jaw hanging so low it might as well have been dislocated.

Leaving Kushina to feed baby Naruto–she didn't know how to feel about that. Should she laugh in relief at seeing her old friend, cry at the thought that he would never know who she was? She preferred not to think about it, it was too painful a subject–she sat on her heels next to her dead students. Trailing a hand on her ear, she took out the bar that pierced its shell twice. Pushing some of her chakra in it, she felt relief when the chakra that had been stored in it gave a little flare in response. She carefully inserted the chakra transmitter in Kyouya's thorax, just below the sternum, and prepared for what was sure to be an excruciating experience.

She had taken the idea from Pein with his Six Paths of Pain that he controlled with chakra transmitters, and Elder Chiyo's resurrection technique. Ever since Gaara's resurrection, she had wondered if it would be possible to modify the technique. Of course, she was aware that resurrection was not something to be taken lightly. Every powerful jutsu came at a heavy price. Some damaged your body when you used it, like Itachi's Mangekyou sharingan. Others could take your life, like Elder Chiyo's resurrection technique. In this case, the price was even heavier. Every ninja knew that even if you died in battle, you would be reincarnated, which helped them do their duty with a somewhat lighter heart. Into what depended of your actions in your life, but basically, you were always granted another chance at life.

_Well, almost always_, thought Sakura. _She_ would not. She had renounced her chance long ago, when she first had used her technique and split her soul.

Each time she used the technique, she split her soul and placed part of it in the dead teen's body to anchor it to life. Basically, she bonded the dead person's soul to hers, thus linking their existences. That link would never disappear. Death would not sever it, be it from the castor or the receiver. Not even if all of the people she had resurrected died–and she _had_, after all, tied her life to that of most of the Akatsuki members during her initiation. Stupid chakra-sucking orb that randomly pulled strange acts from nowhere. Oh yeah, she'd had a talk about it with Pein who didn't know why it did it, but that the orb absorbed the identity of whoever pushed chakra into it. After studying it, she had concluded that the orb had reproduced one of her jutsu. And of course, it just _had _to be that one. Fucking life.

Well, she had known it had worked when she had used it on Gaara. She had stumbled upon him in…let's say nasty circumstances…well, it involved poisoned kunai and a weakened defense system, so that can never be good. Anyway, she had used the technique successfully and fended off any life debt he may have claimed to have toward her.

She eased her hands off of Kyouya's chest. Repairing the damage he had sustained had been easy, but now came the hard part. She painted seals around the chakra transmitter on the boy's chest; they would allow her to literally seal his soul into his body by using part of her soul as an anchor into this plane of existence. Her fingers smoothly glided through the hand signs she needed as she forced herself to stay calm and focus her chakra as she should. Below her right ear, the strokes of the kanji for "protector", "poison" and "death" burned black on her skin, making her cringe in pain.

Kushina gaped as a glow surrounded Kyouya's body. From where she was on the bed, she could see Sakura's back, but not her hands, so she had no idea what hand signs she had used, but the young shinobi stirred moments later. And he looked at his teacher as though he was seeing her for the first time.

"Sensei," he whispered in amazement, "I was dead."

Sakura allowed herself a moment of emotionality–hell, she was a pregnant woman, so that was to be expected, right?–and hugged him tight to her bosom, murmuring emotionally in his hair: "Hai… you were."

Kyouya's grip tightened onto her for only a moment before he jerked back.

"Kushina-san! Is she–"

"I'm alright, young one," confirmed said kunoichi from the bed. "And so is my son. Thanks to Sakura-san."

Sakura was already busying herself with resurrecting Tetsuo. If she felt tired after resurrecting Kyouya, she was positively exhausted when she successfully brought Tetsuo back to life. She wiped sweat from her brow, lightly panting.

_Only one to go._

By then her hands were trembling ever so slightly, but she forced more chakra in her limbs to steady them and continued. When Yuu finally moved by himself, she allowed her body to lean sideways as it was wont to do and to crash to the floor, only barely having enough energy left to keep her body from shutting down, and the strange silent spell that had washed over everyone as she worked was destroyed.

Her students crowded around her and stared anxiously at her, she could see from her dimming vision.

"Sensei! Are you alright? Don't die!"

"Yeah, you can't die, c'mon, sensei!"

"You're too strong to die like this!"

She managed to form slurred words with her sluggish lips, but even then, the sound didn't carry far, and everyone had to strain their ears to hear her.

"Gimme…a minute…need chakra…"

Having just been resurrected, the trio could not do much. The only chakra coursing through them was Sakura's, and it would take their bodies some time to craft any chakra on their own. Huffing, Kushina approached the prone woman, put a warm hand on her shoulder and pushed some chakra into her body. Immediately, Sakura's eyes snapped open.

"Well, that was effective. Thanks, Kushina-san."

"No worries. From what I understand, you _did_ just save my life and resurrect three people. That was the least I could do."

"Yeah…Sorry about collapsing, but my resurrection technique shouldn't exist in the first place, much less be used three times in a row, if any. The soul is not meant to be split."

She cut off any outburst that would have come and frowned.

"We can't stay here. Not with that dead Elder. Follow me, guys."

She took Kushina in her arms bridal-style, to make sure she didn't disturb young Naruto, and leapt through the window, never looking back at the carnage they left behind.

_I can't change everything. I can't save the world. All I can do is try to make it better._

So, interesting enough? Review, or else I won't put up the next chapter, ne? (Believe me, I _can _and _will_ do that if less than 5 people review. It's all good to add my story to your favs or alerts, but reviews encourage an author, so you know what to do!) If you do, I'll update before Sunday. ^^


	41. Wins and Losses: Defeat Demons

Well, this chapter is double the length I usually post, for the simple reason that cutting it in two would have been cruel on my part. Nevertheless, I think that some of you will hate me anyway, but PLEASE don't stop reading after this chapter, for there is more to come. Thanks. And by the way, you guys rock! I can't believe the feedback I got for last chapter! I never thought I would get more than 100 reviews, never mind 250! I love you guys.

Oh, and by the way, I'm happy you liked how I offed Danzo. FYI, just pretend he stole the sharingan from a dead Uchiha, like the bad guy he is.

Minato reclined in his chair in the Hokage Tower, observing the faces of the group in his offices, faces that were looking at him blearily. Spread across his desk was Sakura's trench coat and put on top of it was the infamous orange book she was never seen without. The book had clearly seen better days. It was frayed, some pages were dog eared, and it was lightly burnt, but it was mostly intact.

"I asked all of you to come here for a reason. We all knew Sakura-san was different, but none of us knew why. This," he said, lifting the porn book, "contains all the answers."

He paused for effect, then looked at Jiraiya with piercing eyes.

"Sensei, would you please examine this book?"

Puzzled, the Sannin carefully took the book and opened it. At first, he didn't say anything, yet, as he flipped the pages, his eyes widened.

"This…it looks almost exactly like my book, but there are differences only someone extremely well acquainted with it would notice! Could this be a code? Hokage-sama, do you think this could be a mission logbook?" he asked, looking at the blond-haired man with wide eyes.

"That is my guess."

"Wait…Sensei, are you suggesting Sakura-san was a spy?" asked Obito incredulously. "After all she has done for us? She saved my life!"

Minato's sky eyes snapped to him, making him cringe back. Those were not the eyes of his sensei. They were the eyes of the Hokage.

"Silence. There is no room for speculation. Jiraiya-sensei, do you think you could make it resume its true form? If anyone here can pick up all the clues about it, it has to be you."

Jiraiya nodded silently and sat down for an eternity of studying. For once, he was not giggling or leering and one could see how he had been dubbed with the title of Sannin. In the end, he handed the now much heavier book to Minato. As he did so, two sheets fell out from the middle of the book. Jiraiya bent down to pick them up and froze.

"Sensei? What is it?" asked Minato carefully.

"This is a letter addressed to me," breathed the Toad Sage.

He opened it with trembling fingers and read it aloud.

"Congratulation, Jiraiya-kun, you successfully decoded my code. I knew that only two people in this time know Icha Icha enough to do so: you and Minato-san, although Minato would probably only notice that something is wrong with the book if he saw the dedication."

Jiraiya looked at Minato curiously. The Hokage shrugged, mouthing: "Look beneath the underneath."

"First of all, before you read this confession, know that I could not have told anyone the truth before I died. Yeah, I know that I'm dead if you have this letter in your hands. Actually, I had seen it coming."

_Sakura led her team, Kushina and little Naruto away from the battlefield. The killing intent coming from Kyuubi was almost suffocating, but they ignored the sounds of battle in the distance and headed in the forest surrounding Konoha. She stopped at the edge of a clearing, motioning for them to do the same, and shucked her trench coat. As it fell to the ground, revealing her physique, she stabbed her tanto into the ground and her fingers moved in a flurry of hand seals before they could stop her. As they hit the dome that had formed around them unsuccessfully, Sakura looked in their betrayed eyes without any emotion and draped her necklace around the tanto's guard._

"_This is where we part."_

"_Sensei, let us out! What are you doing?"_

"_This barrier will not fall easily. You won't be able to leave it and no one will be able to enter it."_

_She replaced the fox ANBU mask on her face and walked steadily to the middle of the clearing where she stopped, bit her thumb, then smeared the blood on the ground and yelled: "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"_

_To the utmost horror of the group, the enormous form of the Kyuubi in the distance brutally disappeared to materialize right in front of the kunoichi. Impossible, Sakura couldn't have been in cohorts to make the Kyuubi attack their village, could she?_

_The giant beast roared angrily, snapping its jaw and flicking its tails._

"_Who dares to summon me?" called out the demon, fury lacing his every word._

_Sakura looked up at the giant fox, unafraid. She had long since accepted her destiny._

"_I do," she said loudly and confidently._

_The beast whipped a tail out toward her, hitting her full in the face and sending her flying. She caught herself in midair, doing a cartwheel, and landed in a crouch. Her mask, cracked in two, fell to the ground, revealing a blazing emerald orb to the demon._

"_Get out of my way, human, I have a village to destroy!"_

"_Not before dealing with me!"_

"_And who might you be, you presumptuous human?"_

_She yanked the chakra suppressor from her arm, letting down all of her henge, and quickly regained the form of a gigantic nine-tailed arctic fox._

"_I'm no human, my mate."_

"The first thing I should clarify is my name, as I've never revealed my last name. I was born Haruno Sakura, a few months ago in this time, which is when my body started to deteriorate exponentially, for no one can exist twice at the same moment. I am a living–or should I say dying?–paradox, my friend. In my time, an organization comprised solely of S-class nukenin began to track the tailed beasts in order to capture their power into a statue and eventually unleash it onto the world to destroy it. I was sent by the Godaime Hokage, Senju Tsunade-shishou, to infiltrate the organization in order to gather as much information on their members as possible. As suspected, the leader of the organization was controlled by another one in the dark, one that even the members weren't aware of."

_One moment, the Kyuubi was in front of them on the battlefield and the next, he had disappeared, only to reappear further away. What was going on? And why was it that the shinobi he had sent to bring him back his son had come back empty-handed? All his plans were falling apart._

"_Hokage-sama! There is a second one!"_

_With dread, he saw that his subordinate was right. Another tailed beast stood facing the Kyuubi, and he saw that it had just as many tails as the first demon fox had. He had a feeling the village would not survive the night. He could have sealed one demon, but he could only die once, and he had no idea if Jiraiya would be able to seal the second one, if they even had enough time._

_They made haste to the clearing, only to stop short as they saw Sakura's students and his wife and newborn son, perfectly fine behind a protective dome. In front of their horrified eyes, the two demons were wrestling, each one on its hind legs, their gigantic paws locked together, growling and snarling as they tried to gain the upper hand._

"_Kushina-chan!" he yelled. "What's going on?"_

_The redhead turned to him, barely able to wrench her eyes away from the epic scene._

"_That's…Sakura-san…"_

"_NANI?"_

_Everyone looked at the silver beast, noting that blood flowed freely from its left forearm. Its left eyelid was closed, too, as though it had lost its eye._

No…No…That was impossible…Someone would have noticed…Surely, she could not–that part of her she had sealed off could not possibly be–and yet…the evidence is unforgiving. Sakura-san is a demon.

_But why was she wrestling with Kyuubi? Were they arguing about who would get to destroy the village?_

_As he prepared to give the signal to attack to his ninja, Narabi jumped in front of him._

"_You must not interfere. This fight is between the Boss and his Lady. No one may interfere in a fight between mates. Especially not now that my Lady has finally found the Boss."_

_He saw that the clearing was surrounded by foxes that kept his people from moving._

"_Move aside, I can't wait for my village to be destroyed, fox."_

_Narabi huffed._

"_If you wait, you won't have to. Even you human must have noticed that something's wrong with the Boss. My Lady is the first female demon in millennia. After leaving her alone during her pregnancy, the Boss would have done anything to regain her favours if he was in his right mind. Everyone knows that among demons, if the female is unsatisfied with her mate, she has the right to seek another mate. And being the only female demon at present, she would be courted by other demons who'd wish to pup her. Therefore, something is wrong with the Boss if he's attempting to kill her instead of trying to appease her. If you humans did not try to capture the demons for your own greed, they would not have to defend themselves by annihilating their enemies–as do humans, I must point out–and you would know that demons are not merely extremely powerful being with a lust for blood. Now wait."_

_The two mighty beasts tore at each other with claws and tails. Being male and larger, Kyuubi managed to wrestle Sakura to the ground eventually. The female bucked under him to try to throw him off, but he clamped his sharp fangs on one of her ears to force her to lay still. Crimson eyes bore into an emerald one._

"_Yield, female!"_

"One day, I headed for a meeting with the future Jiraiya to tell him my report on the situation. Usually, I left a copy of my Icha Icha in a pre-arranged place or wind-whispered, so I had a feeling something was not right. In fact, instead of Jiraiya, my sensei and my best friend were there for me. My sensei was the only other one who knew how to decifer the Icha Icha I left behind, because he was Jiraiya's #1 fan and was notorious for reading his "romance novels" in public. He was also the only one, except Tsunade-shishou and Jiraiya-san, who knew that my defection from Konoha was fake and that I was spying for the village, so I naturally tensed when I saw my best friend. I turned out that he had heard sensei and shishou talking about me–which should not have surprised me, knowing him–and was worried about me. At that time, I already had a chakra band around my neck that kept me from using my medical chakra on myself. He had a solution to my problem, suggested to him by his "tenant", none other than Kyuubi. In my time, the Yondaime is known for being the one who vanquished the Kyuubi, but it is an S-class secret, because he didn't kill the Kyuubi. He sealed him in his newborn son, who was despised by the villagers and treated as a monster because people could not get past the fact that their beloved Hokage had died "because of him", as they say. Anyway, this is a mistake I strive to correct. If I have my way, Naruto won't ever have a tailed beast sealed in his stomach. I'm sorry, Minato-san, I know you wanted your son to be hailed as a hero, but people are too narrow-minded for that. In fact, I suspect that once it is revealed that I'm a demon, everyone will hate me. I can't blame you if you do."

Jiraiya stopped reading for a moment, trying to gather himself and not let loose any tear, whereas some people were openly crying.

"Okay, I went off on a tangent. That night, Kyuubi offered to turn me into a demon, which, as you must know by now, I accepted. In the end, I had to sleep with my sensei and my best friend Kyuubified. They gave me a chakra suppressor that would suppress my demonic chakra, but that I would be able to wrench from my arm whenever I had to use a demon's healing properties. Of course, I was not to do that impulsively, as I lived with highly dangerous and intelligent–or else they'd have been dead long ago–nuke-nin who hunted for the tailed beasts. Becoming one was putting me in danger even more than I already was, but I accepted the risks. However, while returning to the organization, the hidden leader engaged me in a fight to the death. I can only assume he had found about my status. During the fight, my sensei and my best friend appeared, as well as my ANBU teammates who still tried to capture me. He managed to injure them and I don't know whether or not they survived the encounter, for several jutsu mixed at the same time and I was caught in the Mangekyou and flung back in time. I don't know how to go back."

_There was pain, there was blood. And there was war._

_Minato could only watch in horror as Sakura finally managed to throw Kyuubi away from her. As she stood, panting, the rubicund liquid of life matted the fur around her torn ear._

"_Damn it, mate, listen to me!" she howled as she blocked Kyuubi's path. The other demon had a single-mindedness that was both disturbing and frightening. He wanted to destroy Konoha; she was inconsequential._

_Growling, Sakura jumped at Kyuubi, who evaded her attack and left a large bite on her shoulder to ooze thick, crimson blood. His tails swiped at her, sending her crashing through the forest._

_She gasped in pain, feeling her womb clench, and tried her best to calm her unborn pups._

Okaa-san is fine, she's only warring a little with otou-san…Calm down, little ones…

_She struggled to her feet, sending cramps of pain through her body. Several trees had pierced her skin like needles, sending more of her blood trickling down her fur. She shook her massive head and saw Kyuubi begin to move toward the village once again. Snarling angrily, she jumped in his path._

"_Regain your senses, foolish mate!"_

_Kyuubi growled furiously in return._

"_If you don't move away, female, I'll have to kill you!"_

_Sakura stilled, her fur bristling, and her empty orbit slowly was revealed._

"_One way or another, this folly ends here!"_

_And the titans clashed once again._

"Even though I'm a stranger in this time, I've had a lot of fun. Seeing people I remember in my time and who don't know me the same way in this one…It was painful, but I believe that the changes I made were for the better. Through my travels across the countries, I managed to stop determining events from happening and gave people cryptic messages that I hope they will remember when the time arises for them to understand them.

As for Konoha, my suggestion for a future different than mine is to not confine the Uchiha in a single place, so that they don't feel that they're being kept away from the village. I can only say that Danzo's ROOT should be destroyed–"

"He's already dead, but what's ROOT?" cut in Tetsuo.

"I did some research, and apparently, it was a group of ANBU-level ninja who were trained from birth into the perfect ninja. Most of them were taken from their families at birth or were orphans. They were loyal to Danzo only. Fortunately, with Danzo's death, the group was disbanded. Who knows how dangerous this could have been…" murmured Minato. "Please continue, sensei."

"Alright. Err…ah! –should be destroyed and that now that I've killed Orochimaru myself, the only other great threat I see on the horizon is that organization I infiltrated in my time, the Akatsuki. As of now, it isn't a large threat yet, but given a few years, it will be a threat to every Hidden Village. Most importantly, the hidden leader behind it is the one you have to watch out for, as I've already insured that the puppet leader and hopefully a few others wouldn't join it. This shadow leader I speak of is Uchiha Madara."

_Minato had to jump to the side to evade the large paw that crashed to the ground. He was splashed by some liquid and knew by the odor that it was blood. Blood that came from the tree trunk that protruded from Sakura's thigh like a grotesque and morbid parody of a piercing. He was surprised that she could still stand._

_Then he saw her left eyelid open. And was frozen on the spot._

_Instead of an empty cavity, pure blood and chakra had solidified in the orbit, making for an entirely crimson orb in place of an eye. And as he looked, crimson chakra rolled in the crystallized blood. Some of the blood rolled down her face like obscene tears, falling off her maw to coat the already bloody ground._

"_I have seen the past and the present. Now…let me show you the future!" she exclaimed in a mighty roar full of raw power._

_Her chakra swirled around her and shot straight at Kyuubi, who writhed in pain. For a long time, the two beasts stopped moving at the inhumanly speeds they had used to fight against each other, then one of Kyuubi's tails stabbed Sakura through the abdomen, seemingly rebounding off something–the protection jutsu around her unborn children, Minato's mind replied–before shooting at an angle from her abdomen, effectively piecing her in two places._

_Sakura yowled in pain, yet refused to otherwise move. She continued pouring every last one of her memories into Kyuubi to disrupt the genjutsu he was trapped in and simultaneously make him understand the situation._

_Another tail shot out at her, but, pinned to the ground by the first one as she was, she could not escape it and settled for clenching her teeth together._

_Yet another tail cleaved her flesh open._

_And another._

_And another._

_And another._

_Panting harshly, she trembled, sensing her babies' distress from inside her womb. Blood pooled in her mouth, sign that he had pierced one of her lungs. She hacked painfully and tasted the metallic blood as it was spewed onto the ground._

_One of her legs gave out as another tail embedded itself into her side, cutting her muscles and tainting her body with burning demonic chakra. She was nearly there, she could sense it. Just a bit more and she would manage to disrupt his chakra flow enough for the genjutsu to dissipate._

_A tail thoroughly destroyed her ribs as it pierced her body sideways._

_She blearily thought that her flesh could not heal around the tails and that Naruto would say she had been careless again._

Naruto…I'm doing this for you…So you'll have parents, friends…and a life…I'm Shadow Fox, remember? The fox that stands in the shadows behind the Fox and protects him with her life…Would you be proud of me if you knew? Or would you tell me there's always another way?

_Her body fell to the ground heavily. From between her shoulder blades, the tip of the last tail, having gone through her heart, stuck proudly in the air, tainted crimson with her life force._

_Minato watched numbly as a crimson drop pearled on the tip of the tail and splashed at his feet._

_He jumped back as Kyuubi slowly retreated his tails from Sakura's body and seemed to shake himself from whatever daze he was in. From the movement, Sakura's body flew through the air like a dismantled puppet and crashed to the ground some distance away, unmoving. It quickly regained a humanoid appearance. Only the silver fox ears, claws and fangs belied Sakura's true demonic nature._

_Kyuubi seemed entranced by the body, never giving any attention to the Konoha ninja who were appalled to see one of their own, who had in fact been a demon in disguise, die so brutally._

_The massive fox approached the body, sniffing it with a low whine, but still Sakura did not stir. Kyuubi nuzzled her cheek, but the movement only made her face roll the other way, and Minato shivered as the dead eyes stared straight through him. The fox jumped back with a growl as a bright light appeared above Sakura._

_Suddenly, with a bang, a group of people stood where before nothing had been. Minato saw that the men crouching protectively around Sakura's body all had scratched-out hitai-ate. Except one who was dressed like the Kazekage, but clearly couldn't be the leader of the Sand village._

There were gasps of shock in the room.

"While this may seem surprising, Madara somehow managed to gain immortality. He may try to goad the Uchiha clan into rebelling against the village, once he fails to use Kyuubi to destroy it. This should be news for you, but the special sharingan he has can control the tailed beasts. That's about it. The rest seems rather unimportant compared to what I've already revealed and what else there is to say is irrelevant because the future has already been changed too much. While I am sad to leave everyone behind, I am happy that I could make a difference and this shall be my legacy to the world. I won't see you again, as no heaven nor any hell is awaiting me. There shall be no reincarnation for me. Not for an incomplete soul. Well, I'm sorry I hid the truth for so long, but would you have believed me? Live free, if not for you, then for me. P.S. The next letter is my will. It basically states that I'm leaving everything I own to the lovely geisha I lived with and to the wards I have cared for. I would wish my money to be used to build an orphanage where anyone, no matter their origins, would be treated well and equally. P.P.S. Kakashi-kun, I know you might be wondering, so I'm gonna leave you on a good note and tell you that I'm a natural pinkie."

For that revelation, Kakashi received many shocked looks, which he pointedly ignored, even as his cheeks reddened.

_The men looked at Kyuubi, weapons drawn, eyes flicking to two of their companions crouched next to Sakura's head, a silver-haired one and one who had covered his face, so that only his piercing green eyes could be seen._

"_Hey, how is it going, hm?" asked a blond guy._

"_Wait a fucking minute, you okama, even immortal guys have to take their time something, alright?"_

"_It would cost too much to lose her because of recklessness now that we've got her back," agreed the man with green eyes._

_Kyuubi narrowed his eyes._

"_What are you doing to my mate?" he hissed._

"_Trying to undo what you fucking did, demon," snarled back the silver-haired man._

_Kyuubi contemplated the group for a while, then nodded and disappeared in a puff, taking them with him._

"_Farewell, humans," said Narabi. "We have to return home now."_

_And the foxes disappeared._

_The protective dome flickered out of existence, but Sakura's team members did not move. Rather, they stared at a cracked ANBU fox mask and a blood-stained scratched–out Leaf hitai-ate discarded on the ground._

Minato looked out of the window of his office, observing the village. He nodded resolutely and turned to the group crowding his office.

"I will have Sakura-san's name carved onto the memorial stone. And this time, I don't think she'll miraculously appear to disturb it."

Okay, this was really hard to write, but before you kill me, I have to warn you that _**this story is not finished!**_** There are still some chapters left, and you'll have to see whether or not Sakura makes a comeback!**

okama: transvestite**  
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	42. Yousei

I'm posting this a day early because I won't have access to a computer for a few days, so enjoy and review, ne?

Minato looked up as three kids entered his office. He smiled as he saw the familiar blonde head of his son who was flanked by his best friends, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke. He had actually introduced the pinkette to his son. A part of it was because the girl had become a ward of Konoha when her parents died–and he had made sure that they hadn't engaged her to some rude and perverted boy once he'd known that had influenced her older self to accept to become a nuke-nin, and he really didn't like the boy and neither did Kakashi , which was _very_ dangerous for the would-be fiancé–and most of it was because she was the younger version of a woman he had come to respect very much. Even though the older Sakura was gone, her influence on Konoha wasn't. As requested, the geisha had opened an orphanage and ran it with love and care. Konoha was safe once more, life was good. Except the one they all owed that peace to wasn't there. He wondered whether those nuke-nin from before had managed to save her of if they had had to bury her somewhere. As it was, he hadn't heard of them again.

Sasuke, on the other hand, he did not know why his son was friends with. The boy was smart and cute–hell, almost every girl in the village had a crush on him or his older but equally as handsome brother–but he was also very different from Naruto. He seemed to think himself superior to those around him simply because he was an Uchiha. While that did not surprise him, he also didn't appreciate that trait in one of his son's best friends. But at least it was not like he was hell-bent on world domination or anything.

Nevertheless, those two were Naruto's best friends and they were virtually inseparable. And they had come and disrupted his work more times than he could count, but he never could stay angry at them for long.

"Alright, kiddos, what have you done now? If you tell me you've put paint in the toilets' soap distributors _again_, I'm letting the janitors deal with you," he said, not bothering to let them disturb more than necessary and returning to his paperwork. After all, if he wanted to see his beloved wife anytime soon, he'd have to stop procrastinating, no matter how much he hated paperwork.

"Otou-san, you have to come this time!" pouted his adorable son. What was he on about?

Apparently his feelings must have shown on his face, because the three-years-old pouted and whined, "Otoooooou-san! It's a full moon tonight, 'member? The fairy's gonna come!"

Minato pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, internally sighing as he pictured the argument that lay ahead. Like each time there was a full moon. He didn't know why, but his son and friends were convinced that a fairy existed, one that would come out only on the day of the full moon. Even for imaginary friends, how come they all believed it? An imaginary friend is just that, imaginary!

He shook his head. Already, this was giving him a headache.

"Kids, you know I'm very busy. Why don't you come back later?"

No such luck. They all gave him a "Duh!" look that made him feel like the stupidest man ever. Not something he liked.

"'Cause it's only today that she comes. You'd have to wait until the next full moon to see her otherwise!"

Really, he should never had made fun of their imaginary friend or doubted her existence in front of them. The little buggers were getting way too persistent.

"Aww, c'mon, otou-san. Just this one time! Then you can go back to your work. Ne?"

The young Uchiha snorted.

"It's no use. He won't come. Besides, she said that adults don't like her."

Wow, didn't he sound self-important. And the pinkette was bobbing her pretty head, clearly agreeing with him.

"Well, if she said that, she must be right, ne? Listen to the _fairy_ and leave me to my paperwork."

"Hey, don't dismiss her so easily! Yousei-chan is amazing! She's pretty and stuff…When she comes, she always looks at the village with such a sad look in her eyes…but she always smiles for us! And she has the most amazing stories, with ninja and stuff!"

Unbidden, some thoughts began niggling at him.

"Naru-chan, did the fairy tell you why adult don't like her? Or why she always observes the village?" he asked, trying his best to hide the tension coursing through his body.

"Well, she says that it brings back memories," muttered Naruto pensively.

"Hai, and she always says that she's not a fairy, but she's too pretty not to be one! Besides, everyone knows fairies dress richly, and she's always wearing a juunihitoe!"

He tried to interrupt, but Sasuke argued with Sakura that fairies did not _always_ dress as richly as theirs did and that she must be a noble among her kind, since she had enough power to make them see her.

"Wait, wait. If she's not a fairy, then _what is she_?" asked Minato, getting more and more worried.

"She says she's a demon," said Naruto, shrugging his shoulders. "But that's impossible, 'cause she's nice and demons are bad, right?"

_Demons are bad, right?_ The words kept repeating over and over again in his mind. Of course, that's what everyone thought, what _he_ had thought until one of the most amazing people he knew and trusted–and who just so happened to save his village and at least change part of the future for the better–had entered his life. Could he hope?

"Naru-chan…not all demons are bad, alright?" he managed to utter through a strangled throat.

His son looked confused.

"Ano…how come? Sensei always says that all demons are blood-thirsty, mindless killing machines and that we should get rid of all of them."

He cringed openly.

"Your sensei was wrong. One of the most amazing people I knew was a demon. In fact, she's the reason you have a father and a mother. Here, why don't I take a break from all this paperwork and tell you the truth about your birth while you bring me to your fairy friend?"

"Yay!"

Because he was with the children, he had to take the stairs to get to the top of the cliff on which the heads of the different Hokage had been sculpted. At the top of the cliff, not far from his own head–wow, that was strange thinking about it this way–was a part of the forest dominated by a lone sakura tree that overlooked the village. Sitting on a branch of the blooming tree was a beautiful dozing woman dressed in a richly embroidered twelve-layered kimono. A breeze flew, making some of her long white hair flutter around her relaxed face and pale pink petals dance around her. Minato felt his breath catch in his lungs at the vision of ethereality.

"Sakura-san…"

At the whisper, the beauty opened her eyes, looking in his direction, and lightly landed on the mossy ground, but otherwise didn't move. She smiled a sad little smile that made him crumble and in a few long strides, he was in front of her and had her engulfed in a giant hug as he buried his face in her neck.

"You survived…"

He pulled back to look at her and frowned when he saw her sad look.

"Iie, Minato-san, I didn't."

He was baffled and didn't hide it.

"But…you're here before me…what do you mean?" he inquired.

She lightly traced his brow with the tip of her fingers.

"You've changed…but I haven't."

It was true. She looked like she hadn't aged a day since the battle. The woman took his hand and placed it at her neck. It took him a moment to understand what was different.

"Kami! You…you've got no pulse!" he gasped.

"I'm dead, Minato-san, or at least not alive, merely in suspension in time," she murmured softly. "My companions trapped what was left of my soul in my body that they put under a stasis jutsu and regularly pour chakra into my body to keep it moving. Kisame-kun uses Samehada to leech chakra off of people and then transfers it to me. I can then manipulate it, but I can't create any of my own. If there isn't anymore chakra in my body, it shuts down. I'm still dead and my companions are still trying to bring my body back to life, but while they've all performed my resurrection jutsu, unless my second mate does it too, I'm just going to start to deteriorate again. It's better that I remain dead. At least, with my companions' use of the resurrection jutsu, I'm able to walk around. Most of the time, though, I have to be confined into a kind of chakra-imbued timeless ice casing. And the guys are loath to let me out of their sight."

"Sakura-san…Those men are from the group you infiltrated, right? The Akatsuki?"

She nodded.

"Hai. I know what you're afraid of, but you don't have to worry. They went against the orders of their leader to rescue me. They even worked with one of their enemies just to get to me. From what they told me, they released the energy of the tailed beasts they had imprisoned and used a jutsu to find me that would bring them to my time of death in the hopes that they could prevent it."

Minato was gaping.

"Such a dangerous jutsu exists?"

Sakura smiled lightly.

"It does. They invented it, but it needed humongous amounts of chakra to fuel it to bring all of them to a different time. They are all quite intelligent, after all, and one of them was even considered a genius. Now tell me, has the village changed much?"

Intrigued, Minato stared straight into her emerald eye and bloody chakra orb. It was perturbing, to say the least, but he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he noticed that her green eye was looking straight through his face.

"Oh, sorry, it's just that I'm so used to simply closing my eyes around the guys that I sometimes forget to put a blindfold on," explained the white-haired demon as she tied the black silk cloth around her head. "My sons love my eyes, because they're so unusual, and Kyuubi keeps getting me in these layered kimono and says that blindfolds wouldn't suit me. I think he just doesn't want me to feel different because I refused to let them heal my eyes. At least, not until we get Madara. I don't want him to be able to hypnotize me with his sharingan."

Minato would have commented on her seemingly simple life with a demon, a Kazekage of the future and a group of nuke-nin, but the forgotten kids jumped up at the mention of the demon's children.

"Wow, Yousei-chan, you have children? How old are they? Will you bring them sometime?" asked Naruto excitedly.

"Hai, Naruto-chan, I have twins. They're as old as you. Both of them have green eyes like mine. Tsukigomori has silver messy hair and Akatsuki has a bright mop of red hair. They're both the spitting images of their fathers. Maybe one day, I'll present them to you and you can all be friends."

She chanced a glance at Minato and whispered, "Not a word to Kakashi-kun. He doesn't need to be saddled by his older self's actions."

Even though he wanted to argue, Minato found himself nodding.

"And don't tell anybody I was here. I'm sory, but I'll have to seal your memories of this day until the time comes for you to remember my existence."

Well, I wanted to write something a bit more light-hearted to contrast with the previous chapter. However, all is not well yet. Anyway, I originally planned to name Sakura's twins Yuki and Kasai, because it would have been fitting, but then I changed my mind and decided to make a reference to Sakura's past. ^^

Juunihitoe: an extremely elegant and highly complex kimono that was only worn by court-ladies in Japan. Literally translated, it means "twelve-layer robe".

Tsukigomori: cloudy moon

Akatsuki: red moon

Yuki: snow

Yousei: fairy (as if you didn't guess that one)

Kasai: fire


	43. Affection Comes in Various Colorings

Well, I have a night out tomorrow, and I have no idea if I'll be able to post this before it, so to be sure not to leave you hanging, I shall post it now. Finally, what you have been waiting for: action with the Akatsuki! Enjoy the AkatSaku smut!

Everything Sakura had told Minato was true. However, there was one secret she had kept from him. That night, a lone figure stood on top of a post, the full moon shining brightly behind it, as it observed the darkened streets. With a gracious leap, the figure left the post, measures of cloth fluttering behind it as it landed softly on the ground.

Within moments, the figure disappeared in a blur of movements, running down the street before scaling a wall easily and stopping at a windowsill. Crouching silently on the windowsill, it observed calmly the occupant of the bedroom. On the floor, an irregular form rose slightly, detaching itself from the rest of the obscured floor. For a moment, all was silent, as the two contemplated each other.

"You're a good ninken to be able to sense me," whispered the form on the windowsill.

The dog lied its head on its front paws, yawning before answering, closing its eyes: "That's only 'cause we're similar. I wouldn't be able to if I were a human, fox princess."

Sakura smiled lightly.

"It's good to know at least one person doesn't hate me in this village."

"Yeah, yeah, just get over there, will you?"

With a chuckle, Sakura eased her body on the single bed, the soft swish of her clothes the only sound in the room. She sighed and brushed a few rebellious strands of hair from the young boy's face before cuddling up to him, wrapping her arms around him. Immediately, the boy's brows smoothed out and his breathing evened out. With a small smile, she put a soft kiss on his brow and closed her eyes for a moment.

When the night lightened into dawn, she got up silently, smoothing the covers to make it seem like no one had been there.

"You know, you should stay some time. He would like to see you. He's still looking for you, you know. And he still only sleeps well when you come, even though with your genjutsu that hides your smell, he has no way of knowing you come."

She averted her eyes from the bed, looking at the sky unseeingly.

"Hai, I know, but I can't reveal my presence just yet. And it would be…better if he forgot me. There are plenty of nice and beautiful girls out there who are not broken like I am."

"Bah, without your sleeping jutsu, you know he would still sleep just as well with you here, and that's what important. So what if you have a mate or two?"

She snorted lightly, shaking her head.

"It may work for summons and demons, Pakkun, but humans…humans have a very different view. I can't expect him to be willing to share me with a group of men. Anyway, I don't want to put him in danger or hurt him, so I'll just stay out of his life."

The pug stayed silent for a long moment.

"But if by any chance you encounter him, or have an occasion to reveal yourself to him…will you take it?"

A hard glint appeared in her eyes. Her voice did not shake and was determined when she spoke.

"Hai."

Sakura appeared in a lush forest with a swirl of pink petals. All around her, gigantic trees towered over the foxes running around happily. At her sight, they smiled and waved joyously. She returned their smiles with one of her own and headed for a lavish house nestled next to a humongous tree, with a cliff at the back and a waterfall at its right, the water escaping the large stone basin to run through the clearing and into the forest in a crystalline river. Home. It had been described to her so many times that she could almost see the place that she knew how to navigate around by heart.

The door opened and out walked a tall man dressed in a dark kimono decorated with flames at the bottom. His crimson hair fluttered gently in the breeze as he approached her, tails swishing lazily behind him. He gathered her in his strong arms, burying his nose in her neck, as his tails brushed her arms tenderly.

"Welcome home, Blossom."

Relaxing in his embrace, she replied softly: "I'm home, Kyuubi."

Their peaceful moment was ruined when two balls of energy ran up to them.

"Okaa-san! You're back!" exclaimed the red-haired child.

"How was the human world?" asked his calmer silver-haired brother.

Sakura chuckled and ruffled their hair affectionately.

"Why don't we go inside and I'll tell you, ne?"

As they went in the kitchen, the back door, which actually led to a tunnel carved into the cliff, opened and out walked Kisame and Kakuzu, both sweaty but sporting a jovial air–or as jovial as they could get.

"Hey, if it isn't our favorite kunoichi!" exclaimed Kisame with a big smile. "How're ya, darlin'?"

"Hello to you, too, Kisame. I'm as well as I can be. Where are the others?"

Kakuzu answered her, green eyes flashing in their usual uncanny way.

"They're just behind us."

"Yeah, we finished sparring earlier and decided to bathe before them to have some small measure of silence," chuckled Kisame. "How about it, darlin', wanna come with us?"

The choice was taken out of her hands when her children hugged her legs, looking at her with bright emerald eyes, and whined, "Pleeeeeeeease!"

She shrugged and, with a small smile, said, "Why not?"

While Kisame and Kakuzu left to gather the necessary toiletries and Kyuubi lounged lazily at the table, Sakura led her kids to the tunnel, making them take a few turns as the tunnel separated in branches, before stopping in front of a large staircase. With nary a huff, she took the little boys in her arms and gathered chakra to her feet. Whoops of joy could be heard, resonating against the stone walls, as she lithely jumped through the staircase, until she emerged at the top of the cliff. She let Yuki and Akatsuki drop to the ground and "watched" them with maternal patience as they rushed ahead on a small path laden with large, flat stone steps.

After a turn, the hot springs, nestled cozily in the moss and foliage, were revealed to her unseeing eyes. The natural calm of the place was disturbed by the two young boys who were happily flailing around in the hot water and splashing each other. With an indulgent smile, Sakura divested herself of her clothes, carefully draping them over a wooden bench, and dipped her toes in the water. Deeming the temperature acceptable, she threaded through the water to a small boulder on which she perched to gather her long hair in a messy bun. Only then did she immerge her body up to her shoulders in the smoking water. In the other, shallower stone basin, her children continued to play as only children do.

She was lightly dozing when she was transferred to well-muscled thighs. Resting against the toned chest, arms encircling her waist, she cracked open her tired eyelids, recognizing immediately the men in the water by their chakra and scent, all of whom were lounging or otherwise sitting on underwater stone benches and boulders and looking at her with a barely noticeable spark of tenderness in their eyes.

"Hey, guys," she murmured sleepily, "had a good spar?"

Various variations of "yeah" and "sure" answered her, drawing a smile on her face.

"Good," she said, burying her head in the crook of the neck of the man currently serving as a seat, his sandalwood scent telling her immediately his identity. She did not miss the reaction her slight wriggle evoked in him.

_Why not, after all?_ she mused. _It's been a while._

"It's good that you thought of taking the kids downstairs," she breathed out as, after positioning her core above her male's member, she sunk down on him in one smooth move. A strangled groan echoed behind her as the dark-haired man lightly bit down on her shoulder.

"C'mon, Itachi, get loose and wild on me," she murmured, enraptured, while she clamped down on him, which earned her a light moan.

Without anymore encouragement, the Uchiha took her hips to lift her up then sink her down hard on his engorged member. A strangled moan escaped her parted lips. Itachi's smirk could almost be tasted in the air.

"Kami, do that again! You fucking handsome piece of man!" she exclaimed breathily, making the others harden instantly with the sexy picture she made. Itachi did her bidding, impaling her on his cock again and again and again. Loud cries of pleasure resounded in the grove.

Sakura's eyes snapped open and her back arched as she felt two mouths suck on her breasts, bringing her nipples to rock-hard peaks. Yet, at the same time, she could feel hands massaging her tender mounds. This could only lead to one conclusion.

"Aaaaaah! Deidara!"

The blond smirked at the cry of ecstasy. Next to him, a red-haired tanned shinobi nudged him aside. Soon, the white-haired demoness had two handsome artists sucking her breasts like eager newborn babes while Itachi still continued to pump in and out of her tight heat.

Masturbating to the scene, Hidan groaned, "Damn, Sakura, you're fucking sex on legs, babe!"

Turning her head to the side, Itachi caught Sakura's lips in a fiery kiss, only releasing her when air became sparse.

"Kami, you feel amazing," he breathed. "No one could compare."

The tight coil in her belly snapped and she came, shuddering, her release triggering Itachi's.

Sasori and Deidara released her nipples with a wet plop and smirked, looking at the drowsy satisfied woman.

"Damn, ain't you a sight for sore eyes, un," piped Deidara. "Too fucking sexy for your own good, un."

Sakura smiled sleepily, putting a hand behind his head to pull him to her for a hot kiss.

"And you guys are way too good to me. Sometimes, I wonder why you bear with me," she murmured.

"Isn't that obvious?" asked Zetsu. "**No one can hold a candle to you. Now let me taste your sweetest nectar.**"

Itachi lifted her off from his softening cock, drew her in his arms and took her to the bank where he carefully laid her down. Her legs floated in the water lazily; Zetsu pried them apart, revealing her core, and kneeled between her thighs. He put her legs on his shoulder, growling, "I like flowers: **they taste so sweet.**"

And then, he swooped down. And he was suddenly licking, sucking, sweeping his tongue at her core, and she was moaning, and crying, and fisting her hands in his hair, and then she was howling her pleasure to the skies. And as she floated down to earth, more tired than before, she could only chuckle as Zetsu complained: "At least now you're clean. **That Uchiha taste is finally gone. … I think I'll indulge some more.**"

And he went at it again, like she was a unique delicacy.

Some time later, Kisame brought her to the bedroom, carrying the drowsy jelly-legged woman bridal-style. Sakura listened to his strong heartbeat through his warm chest, his opened sleeping yukata revealing his toned blue torso. She was almost lulled to sleep by the rhythmic cadency.

In the middle of the bedroom was a nest of furs and pillows piled on a slightly elevated dais. They all sprawled some place or another on the furs, Kisame taking the centre. As he let Sakura cuddle up to him, draping her limbs around him, he heard someone grumble: "Why the hell does _he_ get to sleep with her?"

Sakura opened her lips only long enough to retort, "'Cause he's got the best chest to lie on. He's the best pillow ever." And just to tease them, she lightly nipped at his skin, slightly nibbling on his nipple until he let out a strangled moan that made the others grumble at unfair advantages. "Tss, you know I love you guys, don't be jealous just 'cause Sharky happens to have an amazing buff chest."

Kisame's rumble of laughter made a smile bloom on her face. His arms encased her safely as she drifted off to sleep.

Kyuubi observed his happy and sated mate and nodded in satisfaction. Still, he knew something was lacking from the picture.

He closed the door behind him and went to the living room, in which a few foxes awaited him.

"So, any news of Uchiha Madara?"

"Nothing yet, Boss," deplored the furry animals, "but we'll keep looking. He has to show himself at some point."


	44. Bloody Sand

So…I'm aware that I lost some readers because of Sakura's interaction with the Akatsuki, but I had warned you guys that she would be with some of them, so too bad, so sad. Anyway. Hm. No computer for a few days. Thus I update now instead of Friday. By the way, Crazy-Craisin did a beautiful work of art for this story, so if you want to see it, just go to her account on deviantart. I'll try to post the link in my profile as soon as possible. Don't forget to review! For those of you who read my IbiSaku fic, sorry, but I haven't had time to write a new chapter, so it'll probably have to wait until next week.

And thus, three years went by.

Because Sakura had blocked Minato's memory of their encounter at the top of the Hokage mountain, the blonde once again was blissfully unaware of her existence. She could not afford to have him spill her secret by inadvertence. Thus, when the Kazekage asked for a favour concerning a possible demon threat, he sent the best team for the mission to improve Konoha's temperate relations with Suna. And so, an ANBU team comprised of Yuu, Kyouya and Tetsuo, with Kakashi as their captain, left for Suna on a windy day.

Sitting behind his desk, the Kazekage observed the four Konoha nin. In return, they scrutinized him from behind their masks. The Suna man was not known for his kindness. He was a harsh man, much like the desert surrounding his village, and it was well-known that he had sacrificed his wife to imprison a demon in his youngest son. Said son was, in turn, shunned by the village and highly violent. He had already killed everyone who had tried to assassinate him because of their fear of him. And he had _laughed_ amidst the blood baths. Consequently, everyone stayed clear of him. However, recently, he had learned that there was, in fact, a person who was not afraid of his son. Someone who was almost revered by his son.

"He said they're almost the same," nearly spat the Kazekage by means of explanation.

"Almost, Kazekage-sama?" enquired Kakashi.

"Hai. Only, that person is _free_, whatever that means. At first, I thought she was only an imaginary friend, but it seems the situation is more serious than I thought. I have no idea who that person is, but the boy says she visits him without fail on his birthday. I can't have any of my men snooping around, so I want you to discover who that person is and, if she's a threat, get rid of her."

Back at their hotel, the four young men discussed their plan.

"Well, what do you think he meant by "free"?" asked Yuu.

Kyouya took a breath. "Well, I have a few hypotheses," he said calmly. "It could mean that the person is also a jinchuuriki, but one who works in conjunction with the bijuu she hosts, which could be potentially lethal for us. Second, it could mean that the jinchuuriki is a nuke-nin, thus free. That's not a good option either. Third, it could be a demon who has taken the appearance of a human woman and is trying to ensnare the child. Fourth, it could be a normal human who is trying to do the same, sway him, kill him, or any similar possibility."

"We'll have to prepare for the worst," concluded Kakashi.

"And we only have two days before the kid's birthday."

Six-year-old Gaara walked to his secret spot in the playground, people of all ages swerving aside whenever they saw him. It did not faze him much anymore. He was pretty much used to it by now, but sometimes, he felt a twinge of envy toward the ones who did not know his isolation. Fortunately, today he would see Onee-sama and she would be his for the whole day. She would not be happy that Shukaku had kept him awake again and that he now had dark circles under his eyes, but she would be able to put the demon to sleep, just as she did every time she came to see him. It was only ever on those days that he slept well. As a matter of fact, Shukaku was practically yelling at him to make Onee-sama his. While he did not fully comprehend the demon's frustration, he understood the yearning. Besides, Onee-sama was already his Onee-sama.

As he rounded the corner, leaving behind the children's playground, he spied a figure wrapped in a cream cape complete with a hood. Pale high-heeled sandals peeked from the rim of the cloth. Even with only these, the child knew immediately who was the figure hidden under the layers of clothes.

"Onee-sama!" he cried, running up to her.

Within him, Shukaku purred happily.

"Hello, little one, and happy birthday."

Hidden from sight, having masked their chakra so as to not alert anybody of their presence, four ninja observed the scene.

"Can anybody see her face?" whispered Tetsuo in his walkie-talkie.

"Negative," answered Kyouya. "And we can't approach either to hear better…"

Kakashi thought for a moment.

"Stay put. If she acts in any aggressive manner, take her out. The security of the child is our priority."

"Roger that."

"Gaara-kun, is there anything you want for your birthday? Anything special?"

The red-haired little boy looked at the woman for a long while. He knew what he wanted, but would she be able, or willing, to give it to him?

"I want us to be family."

He closed his eyes, ready for a swift dismissal, a painful rejection, even a slap on the face. Instead, the warmest embrace he ever knew was granted to him. Onee-sama lightly kissed his forehead and pressed him against her chest.

"Dear child, I'll always be your family," she promised. "Nothing will ever change that. However, if you want us to be kin by blood, I can make it so."

The jade-eyed child nodded firmly, a look of determination on his young face.

"Very well, then."

The woman reached in her clothing and took out a kunai. Taking his small outstretched hand in her larger one, she lightly pricked his skin, just enough to make blood well out. She did not want to frighten him.

Gently, her tongue laved at the skin and lapped up the blood, the wound soon closing on its own. She then released it and took off one of her gloves, then swiped at her palm. She directed the bleeding limb to his mouth, and he immediately latched onto it, sucking greedily.

"Slow down, little one…You can have as much as you want, no need to rush…" she murmured, caressing his hair gently.

Eventually, Gaara stopped drinking and yawned, watching sleepily as his One-sama healed her wound. He fought his sleepiness, blinking to force his body to stay awake.

"Sleep, I'll be there when you wake up," coaxed the woman gently, looking fondly as he yawned.

"Sing for me, then?" he asked sweetly, closing his eyes and lying down, using her lap as a pillow.

Threading her fingers through his hair, the woman began to hum.

"Lullaby, lullaby,

Let the nightmares sweep you by,

In the land where life is dream,

And the stars beautiful seem,

Lullaby, lullaby,

Underneath this watchful sky,

Wash all the worries away

And let sleep take you this day."

Shukaku no longer forcing him to stay awake, Gaara succumbed to sleep a moment after the satisfied demon. The woman carefully gathered the red-haired child in her arms and laid him under a tree, the foliage offering some rare umbrage. Looking at him, she kneeled at his side and put two chakra-glowing fingers to his heart, pushing chakra in him to evaluate his state and offer him some respite from Shukaku.

"Down, down! The child is down!"

"The demon does not seem to be reacting! What the hell is she doing?"

"Attack! Stop her, by whatever necessary means!" ordered Kakashi. If the child was unprotected, maybe dying, their client would not be a happy camper.

Immediately, the four black and white figures jumped into action. They ran to the cape-clad woman whose head snapped up at their approach. Immediately, she jumped back and turned tail. The ANBU followed her closely as she ran through the labyrinth of streets. At some point, they lost her as she rounded a corner, only to see her further away, heading straight for the desert. The group flew over the wall surrounding Suna, the Konoha shinobi now firmly believing that the escapee was a skilled nuke-nin. If not, why would she have chosen to flee from the village, where many ninja could have accosted her?

A scythe mysteriously appeared at her right, forcing her to evade it by doing a flip in the air. At that point, she got in a one-on-one with a highly dangerous puppet that was clearly manipulated with skill.

The four Konoha shinobi battled her with all they had, yet they did not seem to be able to inflict a single wound on the woman whose face they still had yet to see. She seemed content to avoid the blows, often retreating instead of landing a punch or kick because it would mean getting injured, and never using any jutsu or chakra.

Then Kakashi remembered the woman had disappeared at some point and reappeared almost instantly much further away from before. He had also not seen her use chakra ever since and she was clearly avoiding geting injured.

_Damn it all to hell, that's a clone we've been fighting since the beginning! She lured us out here on purpose! We must go back! Kuso, we were careless in leaving the child without supervision!_

Immediately, he ordered the team to go back to Suna. Without questioning his orders, the three ANBU stopped fighting and headed toward the hidden village, only to have the woman block their path. Apparently, she would not let them pass that easily. Frustrated, they attacked her once more, incorporating wind-based jutsu in their attacks. At one point, the woman parried a blow above her head with twin crossed katana, imprisoning the scythe. At the same time, a furious Kakashi yelled: "Damn it, get rid of her already!"

For a fraction of second, she tensed and stopped moving. However, that was all the highly trained Kyouya and Tetsuo needed to plunge a katana through her chest, Kyouya from the front and Tetsuo from the back, puncturing both of her lungs. The woman's back arched painfully; her feet left the ground; her head was thrown back; her hood slipped off, revealing a mass of pristine white hair, part of it having been stylized to stand on top of her head in a mix of tresses; through the fluttering hair, mismatched eyes could be seen, freezing the shinobi's hearts. The katana had been removed immediately after the attack, leaving the woman to fall to the ground like a dismantled puppet.

For a moment, shock paralyzed the young men. The woman was not a clone as they had thought. The blood that seeped into the desert soil was so very red…the face that looked at them through unseeing eyes was tragically familiar, the scene so grotesquely identical to the one that had happened on the night of the Kyuubi attack…Strangled cries of pain, disbelief and horror rose and died in their throats, as their minds realized that the one woman they had gone in quest of for six years was perishing by their own hand.

Kakashi was numb. When his mind finally grasped what was happening, forcing his body to move, he found himself gathering Sakura in his trembling arms. Her head rolled to the side limply, eyes glazed, the rest of her body just as limp as though none of her limbs were attached to her hips and torso. Dark crimson tainted her pale clothing, steadily releasing the life that had been captured in her body. His bloodied hands tried to staunch the flow of blood unsuccessfully. Next to him, three men fell to their knees, their hands glowing green with medical chakra as they tried to keep their former sensei from slipping away in dark oblivion. Kakashi turned Sakura's head toward him, his fingers leaving a red trail on her skin, and pleaded with her.

"That's not fair! You've only just come back to us! You can't leave us yet! You can't, Sakura! Don't die now!"

The words left his lips hurriedly, seemingly like he had no control over them.

The tails that had been wrapped around her waist to hide them and lay on the ground limply twitched. Immediately, all eyes were drawn to them.

Sakura's bloody lips moved imperceptibly, a sliver of voice leaving her throat.

"I can't die…"

Silence fell on the group as they strained to hear her feeble voice.

"…because I'm not alive…"

Unbeknownst to the flabbergasted men, the little healing chakra they had pushed in her chest had been enough to keep her body from failing her. It flooded her carnal envelope just enough to leave her dead tired instead of unable to keep her soul from leaving her body.

Groaning, Sakura rolled out of Kakashi's embrace, landing softly on the sand. The men shuffled back, leaving her room to move. With limbs as weak as a newborn kitten's, she managed to get on her hands and knees and, finally, to get up by herself. She swayed for a moment, before the men were at her side in a flash and she found herself leaning against Tetsuo's strong frame, his right arm pulling her flush against him. Her fingers, splayed against his chest, picked up his strong heartbeat.

"You've grown well, Tetsuo-kun," she murmured.

The men stilled, indecisive.

"Don't be so surprised," she chided, amused. "Of course I recognize you. I did teach you for a while, and I'd never forget the men whose lives I saved in exchange for a necklace."

The masks angled to look at the chakra suppressor around her neck.

"A worthy war trophy, I'd say. I never regretted my decision of that day."

"Wait…the team you led back then in ANBU was _us_?" asked Yuu, astonished.

"Indeed. And you've all become just as good as I remember you to be," she said with a tired but heartfelt smile.

She was encased in a group hug by the emotional young men.

"For so long, we wondered if you'd died that night or if you'd gone back to the future!" cried Yuu. Why didn't you tell us you were alive and well?"

The demoness sighed, closing her eyes.

"My future no longer exists, guys. I destroyed it by coming to the past. The men you saw that time…they only managed to come get me because they each hold a part of my soul. Otherwise, they would have disappeared, too. And they're still here because they can't go back. However, because their souls are whole and bound to me, who is in turn bound to the Kyuubi of this time, they are…well, I can only describe it as "accepted" by this time. As to why I didn't get in contact…I had to play dead to draw my quarry out of hiding, the one who almost killed me when I came to this time. According to my calculations, he should make his move soon. Until then, you must not breathe a word of our encounter to anyone. I've also discovered a side effect to splitting my soul that is…unexpected."

"What is it? Is it serious?"

Sakura shook her head.

"Well, not for me. However, those who hold a part of my soul have become immortal because of my own immortality. You don't actually get demonic features, but you will live as long as I do. I suppose I hoped distance would lessen, if not outright cancel that effect. I have no right to subject you to an immortal life, and for that I am sorry. I can only beg your forgiveness."

They thought of watching their loved ones die, one after the other, while they continued to live on, only to see the cycle repeating itself, and shuddered.

"As for me…the guys–they're loyal to me, by the way. Most of them were forced to join Akatsuki anyway and they all were pretty much attached to me back then–did what they could, but even with my bond to Kyuubi, I remain dead. I just…exist, I suppose would be the right term."

"How so?" asked Kyouya shrewdly. Where was the catch?

Sakura looked at him with sad eyes.

"Because he's only one of my two mates."

Sorry, but this chapter was getting pretty long, and I think it has more punch if I end it here. Till next week, guys!


	45. Shukaku's Anger

Hello, people. Me again. Maybe I should just update on Thursdays from now on. Anyway, Crazy-Craisin did an amazing fanart for this story on deviantart. You should check it out, here's the link: http:/crazy-craisin(dot)deviantart(dot)com/gallery/#/d2rz2vs

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The four men looked at one another, somewhat baffled.

"I'm not sure I understand…" trailed off Tetsuo.

"Yeah, what's this business of two mates about?" added Yuu.

She angled her head toward the sun, feeling its warm rays on her skin but unable to see them.

"You see, for demons, mating is very much like marriage for humans–with a few differences, mind you. For one, it ties the two parties together, so you can't "unmate". It's for life. You can also have a maximum of two mates if you're female, because there are so few of us. This makes it so the female is better protected and can assuage her…erm…potent sexual appetite. However, the female can have other bonded partners. The difference between them and the mates is that the mates are the alpha of the pack and have a duty to protect and provide for the female and the pack. Consequently, they have advantages, such as first pick and have a say in who joins the pack. You see, demonesses are so rare that once one is found, all the demons will fight for her. By having a mate, she is insuring that such fights will not happen, though that is in no way stopping them from courting her."

"So you basically have a harem."

She flinched mentally.

"I prefer the term "pack", it represents better my reality. We are family and I don't sleep with anyone just to douse my sexual appetite. Each of those men has my heart, and they tried really hard to gain it. They had to learn how to share, which was not easy, and to get along. It took them two years to make me let them more than just sleep next to me."

Her mind drifted back to the numerous battles that had occurred between the men. Gaara had proven to be as territorial and possessive as Kyuubi, and that was saying something. The red-haired men actually got along really well with each other and were often found playing shogi late into the night when everyone got to sleep, only to join everyone on the bed of furs hours later, when they finally finished their game.

"You see, before I came to this time, I was mated and a mate bond is indestructible. Thus, when I came here, _I _was still bonded, but my mates weren't. It made my existence instable and only added to the paradox that I was–that I still am. You see, my existence is precarious and unless I am mated to both of my mates of this time, I will remain an identity that doesn't belong here. However, my second mate is human, for one, and I wouldn't mate with him without his consent, especially not since it would extend to him my immortality. And after all, there is no guarantee that he would want to mate with me in this time."

The men stayed silent to digest her every word, after which Kakashi ended up asking what everyone wondered.

"But doesn't that pose problems for you? You were already sick before…"

She shrugged.

"Well, yeah, of course it does. My body still steadily continues to destroy itself, so Kyuubi frequently has to pour healing chakra in me to heal the damage. By the way, once I run out of chakra, my body shuts off and it is very dangerous for me, because my soul would then leave my body and therefore be annihilated. Fortunately, with enough chakra I can control time, so I spend much time trapped in a time-stopping crystal. This is not much of a life, but this is all I have. My body was frozen six years ago on the day of the Kyuubi attack on Konoha and my heart has not beaten since. I'm neither alive nor dead, I just…exist. Eventually, if I don't mate, I'll lose my grip on this plane of existence and disappear. Until that day comes, there is someone I have to find and kill. Then I'll be able to die with a peaceful mind."

All questions the men could have asked were cut short as she abruptly gasped in pain, her hands clenching reflexively in Tetsuo's clothes as her whole body tensed up.

Eyes wide open, her head snapped in the direction of Suna.

"Gaara!"

And she disappeared in a flurry of sand as the desert seemed to revolt suddenly.

The child lay in a puddle of his own blood as Sakura appeared next to him. She promptly kicked away the man who stood next to Gaara, sending him skidding several meters away. She crouched over the dead boy, snarling angrily at the shinobi she sensed, tails flicking behind her.

"So you did appear, demon," she heard a voice call over the growing wind.

Enraged, she pushed chakra through her eyes and read the man's memories brutally. The process took less than a second, but he still staggered back as though he had been punched violently, which she was close to doing.

"How low you stooped, Kazekage-_sama_," she riled angrily. "You knew that when I came was the only time Shukaku slept, so you sent shinobi after me to get me away from Gaara-kun and took the opportunity to kill him, for it was the only way you could ever catch him off guard. All to get rid of him. And what's more, you used Konoha nin to pine the murder on, giving you the perfect motive to attack Konohagakure. Using me to destroy it because I'm more powerful. So you planned on sealing me too, huh? In whom, you pathetic man?"

During her tirade, her aura grew tremendously, fuelled by her rage and heartbreak.

"You would sacrifice your own son, you monster," she finished in a calm but deadly voice.

"He is no son of mine, only a tool that was becoming more bothersome than it was worth."

Sakura slowly stood up, eyes flaming eerily.

"Let me give you your one-way ticket to hell."

Her hands flew into hand signs, so fast that all everyone could see was a blur. A protective dome appeared around Gaara's inert body. She then shed her cape, revealing the outfit she had on underneath it. The crème-coloured short-sleeved shirt under the crimson camisole was already stained red with her blood, as well as her pale Capri pants, but it only seemed to add to her dangerous aura. Her killing intent froze everyone where they were.

"You wanted my power? Let me give you a taste of it!"

Once again, her hands moved too fast for the eyes to see.

"Demonic blood!"

The Kazekage howled in pain as his blood began to boil. Fortunately for him, Sakura did not want to kill him yet. Around them, the whipping sand became more vicious.

"Hear me out, you utter idiot. Each one of us demons controls one element. Without the demon around, that element would go out of control, disrupt the natural balance of life, and create chaos. Congratulations, imbecile, that's what you just did. I hope you'll be lynched when your people realize you've just condemned them because of your hunger for power. Now, excuse me, but I'm gonna try to salvage the situation."

She turned her back on him and walked to the small unmoving body on the ground.

"I hope for you I have enough chakra left for this."

Closing her eyes, she took bar out of her ear shell and pushed it in Gaara's torso. She spread her senses out into death to look for Gaara and Shukaku's souls. Bringing them both at once–and into different bodies–would be quite a challenge.

_They're too far gone…_

"Time, bend to my will!"

Wind picked up around her, blocking the jutsu that were sent her way.

"Fuckers, and here I am, trying to save your asses," she muttered. "I'm Time, you idiots! What do you think will happen if I die?" she yelled at them.

She had hoped for a respite, but instead, she felt the tell-tale signs that came with a sealing jutsu. However, she was too far gone in her hand signs to break them and counter the attack.

_Faster…faster…_

Chains began to wrap around her body.

_Come on…not long now…_

The chains wrapped more snugly around her and tightened painfully.

_Just…a bit…more…_

The painful sensation began to suck at her.

_NOW!_

Power flashed brightly, blinding the shinobi as the jutsu took hold, fuelled mostly by the nature chakra Sakura drew from the desert. When the blinking shinobi finally regained their sight, they saw that Sakura was dangerously still on the ground, having used the last of her chakra to save the two souls. Gaara twitched on the ground and opened his jade eyes. Rolling to the side, he got on his knees and shook the fallen woman to no avail.

Slowly, the wind began to abate. The swirling sand drew to a stop in front of the baffled Kazekage and slowly took a humanoid form.

Piercing eyes looked at the man from a handsome face topped with sandy-brown shaggy hair. The well-muscled man looked disdainfully at the human and snorted.

"Well, well. It seems those who inhabit my territory have fallen from grace, huh? Shall I withdraw my support? Never should have thought humans were worthy of my time and protection. Just die already."

And with a flick of his tail, he pierced the man through the heart. Paralyzed by the demon's killing intent, he stood no chance. As life left his eyes, Shukaku walked to the white-haired woman and gathered her in his strong arms. From all around, chakra gathered in his open palm that he then put on her chest.

The Konoha shinobi arrived on the scene to see a muscled man gently pour chakra in Sakura's torso. Seeming satisfied, he nodded, kissed her forehead and murmured: "Sleep, koishii, I'll take you home."

Starting at the thought that they were once again going to lose Sakura, the four men ran to them, yelling at the demon to stop, but with a swish of sand and chakra, he, Sakura, and young Gaara disappeared, leaving behind disappointed young men.

With a flare of chakra, Shukaku and his precious cargo appeared in the foxes' domain. One by one, the inhabitants' heads perked up, realized something was wrong, and headed to the place he had arrived at. The first one on the scene was Kyuubi. Seeing the other demon, he tensed and snarled: "What the hell happened?"

Shukaku shook his head.

"Later. She needs chakra and rest."

Eyes narrowing, Kyuubi placed his hand on the white-haired woman's head and replenished some of her chakra.

"Good thing she had stocked chakra in her chakra bar," he muttered. "Come with me, tanuki, we'll put her in the crystal. You too, young Gaara."

The two followed him silently as the sea of foxes parted to let them pass. They entered the house and were led through the maze of tunnels to a circular cave that was lit eerily from a hole in the roof. From that hole, water flowed down the walls, covering them and falling in a foot-wide and foot-deep gutter that encircled the room. The entrance was stylized with engravings and the rock was slightly elevated from the wall, so that the water trickled down to the sides and not on the people who entered. The Akatsuki and the future Gaara were already in the center of the cave when the trio entered with the limp woman. Kyuubi motioned for Shukaku to put her on the stone throne erected on the dais, which he did carefully.

Kyuubi brushed some strands of hair from his mate's forehead and leaned to murmur in her ear.

"Rest, Blossom, you've done enough."

The young Gaara watched the men gather in a circle around the throne and was addressed by a young man who looked curiously like him.

"Don't be afraid and don't move."

The red-haired man then turned his gaze to a red-eyed one who gave him a nod.

Under his astonished eyes, sand began to encase his Onee-sama. Then, to his horror, the red-eyed man made some signs and fire engulfed the whole throne. However, none of the others moved, so he didn't either. One after the other, they added their preferred element to the mix. Finally, the man with a lot of tails stepped forward.

"Prepare to shield yourselves. Shukaku, you shield young Gaara-kun. With my attack, Sakura's latent power will react and encase her in a space where time does not exist. The energy will repel us all, so be prepared."

Immediately after his speech, he let his power run free in the cave to trigger Sakura's. He was not disappointed as, a second later, the air shimmered and exploded in a brash light. The men were propelled away, but, having expected it, were able to cushion their fall. Feet glued to the walls, they observed as the light receded, leaving behind the throne intact with the demoness unconscious in it covered by thick layer of glowing crystal.

Shukaku let himself land to the ground with a whistle.

"Wow. So what exactly did you do?" he asked in something akin to amazement.

"It's actually relatively simple. Gaara-san and Itachi-san created a crystal around Sakura with their attacks, then the others attacked. Due to the crystal, none of the attacks landed, but they did awaken Sakura's body's automatic response to an attack. Thus, when _I_ attacked," explained Kyuubi, "it answered in its most basic form. Because she's the demon of time, it created an area around her where time has no hold, making it the perfect place for her to rest and draw on nature's energy around her to replenish her chakra. Because we regularly pour chakra in the throne and walls, the process takes much less time than it would take normally. Now, let's leave her to rest. She'll get out of the crystal when she awakens."

The Hokage Tower was flooded with letters, making Minato go crazy. A group of ANBU entered and stopped in front of the desk separating them from the irritated Yondaime.

"I hope you're gonna explain this to me," he gritted out, waving a stack of papers under their noses.

The ANBU didn't move.

"How _the_ _hell_ did the Kazekage get murdered in the middle of his own village while you were there on a mission?" he cried out, getting out of his chair to look at the village below.

"It wasn't us–" interjected Tetsuo before getting cut off by the blond.

"I _know_ it wasn't you! Hell, the whole _world_ knows it wasn't you! I've received more missives and letters from Suna in two days than I ever have in a year! They are asking for help because their land is quickly becoming, to put it simply, Hell on Earth, and they want us to accept refugees who are leaving the place! If it continues like this, Suna will soon be nothing more than a graveyard! How the hell, do I repeat, did this happen? Why is the desert becoming crazy?"

"Actually, it all began when the sand demon, Shukaku, decided to withdraw his protection from the village when the Kazekage killed his son and, possibly, caused Sakura-san to die too…" trailed off Kakashi.

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Dundundun! Yo, guys, this fic is slowly coming to a close. Not much left, but please continue to review!


	46. Hunting for Foxes

"Suna is falling," murmured the blond Hokage, "but how can we help? The demon, Shukaku…even if we could find him, how could we convince him to give Suna back his protection? Yet alone find someone who'd be willing to look for a demon…"

He sighed, shaking his head.

"Wait…If Sakura-san is still alive…"

He whirled around, eyes blazing with an excited fire.

"I just remembered that I have seen Sakura-san once, but she said she'd only come on days of the full moon, which isn't for two weeks…and we don't have that much time…What to do, what to do?" he pondered, worrying his lip.

"If we found a fox, maybe we could ask for its help in this matter," suggested Kakashi. "Sakura-san is, after all, a fox demon, is she not? If she's alive, they'll surely know it!"

Minato nodded, but his face did not lose his seriousness.

"Hai, but there haven't been sights of foxes around here for a long time, remember? Ever since the Kyuubi attack, in fact. The villagers try to lynch them as soon as they see one, so they avoid this place, and they are usually quite difficult to sight anyway."

"I could use the pack to find one," mused Kakashi. "They're summons too, so maybe they could intercede in our favour."

Minato sat down in his chair, nodding.

"Alright. You do that. If it amounts to nothing, find Jiraiya-sama. He may have better luck with his contacts. I heard he was going to see his old team mate, so you should search the gambling houses first."

"Hai!"

"Dismissed."

The ninja filed out of his office, talking in low tones. They scattered at the base of the tower, each one going his own way. Kakashi headed for his apartment and immediately summoned Pakkun. The dog growled in annoyance as the silver-haired human began to take off his shirt.

"Geez, you gonna tell me why I'm here or what?" he grumbled low. "I got better things to do than see your naked ass."

Kakashi nodded at the dog, seeing it was currently scratching its ear with a yawn.

"Actually, I summoned you to have news on the foxes."

From the corner of his eyes, he saw the dog freeze, leg extended for a good scratch.

"Eh…Boss, we dogs are not really on good terms with foxes. Their slyness and cunning does not go so well with our forthright nature. We usually stay out of each other's business."

Kakashi sighed, sitting on the bed to unlace his sandals.

"Still, could you take a whiff around here, see if you smell any of them? Anyone would be fine, I just want to talk to one of them."

"Sure thing, Boss."

Kakashi smiled behind his mask as he let his pants fall to the ground. He took a towel from where it rested on the end of the bed and put it on his shoulder.

"Good. I'm gonna take a shower and go out for a bite, so let yourself in if you come back before then."

Pakkun quickly left, wondering whether Kakashi would finally get his girl. He sure hoped so. Unfortunately, besides the times she came to give him a deep sleep, she didn't venture into Konoha and he doubted he would find a trace of any fox around. Still, he had to try.

Obito and Rin were eating ramen at Ichiraku's when their old teammate joined them. He motioned for them to shut up as he put up silencing wards around them. Only then did he nod, signalling that it was okay to speak.

"What's going on, Kakashi-kun?" asked Rin, worriedly assessing his state. When she could find no injury, her eyes travelled back to his face where she saw a strange mix of fatigue and excitement, mixed with a dose of hope.

He took his bowl of miso ramen and looked at the two ninja who looked at him questioningly.

_Blunt or gentle?_ he wondered. They looked so eager to know. _Blunt it is, that's gonna be so much fun._

"Sakura-san is alive."

And the two choked on their ramen, Obito even spitting it out with a hack.

"What?" hissed Rin, absentmindedly tapping on Obito's back. "Are you sure?"

"Hai, I saw her myself. Well…that's the only good news, though."

"What do you mean?" asked the Uchiha, having finally managed to calm down.

"She got hurt pretty badly in Suna…and she was unconscious when I last saw her…so I don't actually know whether she's _still_ alive…" he trailed off, twirling his chopsticks in the warm broth.

Recognition flashed in Rin's eyes.

"Wait. Does she have anything to do with Suna's current state?" she asked him with a worried frown.

Kakashi only nodded.

"Well, shit."

A few days later found Kakashi in a largish sunny town. As he walked through the streets, Pakkun at his heels, he listened intently for any sign of trouble, which always seemed to follow the two Sannin. In the end, it was the pug who noticed the white-haired jovial man first.

"Eh? If it isn't Kakashi-kun!" exclaimed the once-sober man, waving him over. "What brings you here?"

Kakashi sat down next to the older man, watching him eye a group of teenage girls openly, and waited for the Sannin to give him his full attention.

"Actually, I was looking for you. Have you heard of foxes lately?"

Immediately, Jiraiya stopped ogling the young beauties. Seriousness washed over his body and he regarded his companion for a moment.

"Foxes, ne? I did hear that there were some in the forest to the North, but they're incredibly hard to find, if they are even there."

"Good, let's go."

As they headed toward the forest, Jiraiya turned to his companion and asked, "Is it really that urgent?"

To which Kakashi replied, "Hai, it is."

The older man shrugged.

"Well, if you say so. Anyway, there's a tea house just next to the path that goes through the woods. People here call it the _Foxes' Realm_ because there are often sightings of foxes there. That's good for you. As for me…" he trailed off with a leering gleam in his eyes and a lecherous grin on his face, rubbing his hands contentedly.

Kakashi sweat-dropped. He had a feeling he would hear something about baths and beautiful women again.

"Once in a while, a beautiful lady in rich kimono stops by that teahouse. I have to see her, as an amateur of fine women! I'm sure I could convince her to help me with my research!"

There. As predicted.

The silver-haired man shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. Through it all, Jiraiya never changed.

In the end, Kakashi ended up hiding in a tree where he had a great view of the teahouse, as per the Sannin's wishes, so that he could both look for foxes and spy the beautiful woman–if she showed up. Whereas the white-haired man took a nap next to a clear pond nearby. He watched passersby walk past the little teahouse, some stopping by for a drink and occasionally for a plate of dango, but through it all, he never saw a single fox. The sun was shining just above the treetops when he saw a man dressed all in black stop at the teahouse. Only his green eyes were visible, but though Kakashi could not read his lips, he heard him mutter about "wasting good money on tea," which surprised him. Why would the man stop by a teahouse if he did not want to drink? He continued to observe the man sitting on the bench, almost not noticing a brightly-decked woman walking down the path from the other side. Her beautiful kimono alone must have been worth a fortune, he estimated. The rich fabric flowed down her form in enticing rivers of colors. However, he could not see her face from his vantage point, as her escort, a well-built red-haired man, held an umbrella above her to protect her from the sun. She was slightly leaning on him, as though she was recovering from a tiring sickness more than because of an injury. The man led her gently to the teahouse and helped her sit down. Surprisingly, the previous customer, sitting on the same bench, took the umbrella from the red-haired man and folded it. And then he saw the woman's face. And she was indeed beautiful. Her hair was piled on her head, staying in place thanks to crafted chopsticks, and her eyes were closed, but he already knew without looking at them what color they would be.

"Sakura-san!"

At the mention of her name, the woman's head snapped up and the two males stood up immediately, positioning themselves in a protective manner, their bodies tense and ready to react to the slightest stimulation. Slowly, the woman got to her feet and brushed their arms with her fingers, instantly relaxing them, but not alleviating their readiness to jump into action at any moment.

"Gaara, Kakuzu, it's alright. You two go on ahead of me. This is personal."

Even though they clearly did not like leaving her alone, the two males knew better than to argue and relented.

"Alright…but if there's one hair missing from her head, you're a dead man!" murmured Gaara in a voice that could freeze hell.

Kakashi refrained from shuddering at the intense bloodlust he could feel coming from the two men.

"Ah…Don't worry, I only wish to speak to her," he said, a hand scratching the back of his head nervously.

With one last glare, the two shinobi sat back on the bench. With a small smile curving her lips, Sakura led him away from their sensitive ears.

"So we meet again," she said softly.

"Hai, we do," answered Kakashi. "And it's…so amazing that you're this well…"

"Ah, that?" she chuckled, turning her head toward the sun to feel the warm rays upon her face. "My guys are all pretty intelligent–and some were even immortal through their own means before they gained my demonic immortality–so thinking up a way to help me with my predicament, while challenging, was not impossible for them. That's why I'm relatively intact. How about you? Why were you looking for me? I doubt it was a chance encounter."

Kakashi stopped walking, making her stop too.

"Actually, Jiraiya-sama and I were looking for foxes, in hopes that one of them could grant us an audience with either you or the Kyuubi. We hoped you or he would be able to convince the Ichibi to stop what's happening in Suna."

Sakura remained pensive for a while.

"Well, while foxes do not show themselves, they probably were aware of you looking for them. I'm pretty sure it's thanks to them somehow that you knew to come here. They're devious like that, and shape-shifters in addition. Anyway, don't worry, I'll convince Shukaku. Leave that to me; he never could refuse me anything. Sometimes it gives advantages to be the only female demon, you know?" she joked, a crooked smile on her face as she turned to look at him. "Sooo…you said Jiraiya-kun was here too?"

"Yeah…he's taking a nap," muttered the silver-haired ninja.

"Ha! That's so like him! Let's go find him, ne?"

Jiraiya was dreaming of busty women when one of the dream girls suddenly bent down to kiss him. He responded lazily, head clearing slowly, and realized that someone was really kissing him. Opening his eyes, he stilled in shock as he recognized the woman straddling him.

"Hello, Jiraiya-kun," purred the white-haired woman, "missed me?"

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Review, people, I'd like to hear your thoughts. If not, you'll have to wait to have access to the KaksSaku lemon waiting next chapter! Muahaha! And I have decided that Jiraiya would only be a very good friend, so Sakura won't sleep with him. Though I may write a one-shot about the two of them at one point, totally unrelated to this story, if anyone is interested.


	47. Union and Reunion

Hello, people. Thanks for your kind reviews! As you may know, I'm working on an Ibiki/Sakura fic. It will probably be updated next week, as I've been busy this week. I'm also writing a KisaSaku fic (just a one-shot I haven't posted yet), so for those of you who like humor and smut, I guess this is for you (I've noticed you like the interaction between Sakura and Kisame and this fic). Also, as per request, I'm writing a ShikaSaku one-shot. I'll post it as soon as I have time to finish it, which will probably after this fic ends. Now that the publicity stunt is done, enjoy the long-awaited KakaSaku love and smut!

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Jiraiya and Kakashi observed the pond in front of them, both lost in their thoughts. The sun had set a while ago, but the shinobi still had yet to move. The younger one was sitting, his chin on his knees in a bored manner, the Sannin sprawled next to him on the grass.

"It's taking a long time," murmured the gravity-defying haired ninja.

Jiraiya snorted softly. Of course the young man would miss the teasing vixen–now that he thought about it, she really was a prime example of a scheming, teasing vixen. Always making him hot and everything. And she _was_ a fox, after all.

"Don't fret, she'll come back. She promised, right?"

Kakashi closed his eye.

"Right."

Less than five minutes later, with a poof of chakra smoke, the woman they had been waiting for reappeared. They waited with baited breath as she approached them.

"It's done. It took some convincing and a bit of ass-kicking, but Shukaku finally agreed to get the desert under control. He should be doing just that as we speak."

"Great!" exclaimed the older shinobi. "Then I can return to my research, eh? See you youngsters later!"

With a friendly clap on Kakashi's back and a hug to Sakura, he left them alone, whistling merrily. Suddenly shy, Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck in nervousness.

"That's so like him," chuckled Sakura.

"Yeah. He must have known we have things to talk about…"

Without a word, the young man handed her a scroll. At her questioning glance, he explained, "I sealed your hitai-ate in there, as well as your tanto, your necklace and your big summoning scroll. It's yours."

Emotions filled Sakura, threatening to overflow, but she was no sissy and controlled herself like the kunoichi she was.

"That's…very kind of you…" she whispered. She regarded him, head tilted to the side. "But…how did you know I would be here to receive it?"

"Ah…I wasn't sure I would manage to find you, if anyone at all, but…I always bring this scroll with me, wherever I go."

"Why?" she asked in a murmur.

The young man's head turned to the side in embarrassment. She looked blindly at his moonlit form for only a moment before her fingers found his face and turned his head towards her.

"Why, Kakashi-kun?" she repeated gently.

"Because it made me feel closer to you," he admitted as he closed his eye in shame to avoid looking at her disgusted expression.

Fingers brushed his hair gently and a melodious voice told him, "Please, Kakashi-kun, look at me."

With a deep breath, he opened his eye cautiously. He roved her face for signs of her disgust, but could find naught but a strange tenderness in her unseeing eyes.

"I watched you grow up in a fine man, knowing that one day you would find a woman worthy of you."

"I did find one," he answered.

And his lips found hers.

The kiss was chaste as he slowly and tenderly moved his lips over hers, gently massaging them, pouring every ounce of love he felt for her in the moment he had never thought he would get to share with her.

His lips left hers slowly. He gazed at her beautiful face, feeling warmth bubble in his chest from the sight of her darkened eyes and blushing cheeks.

"Why me?" she murmured.

"Because you're you," he answered, carefully guiding her to lie down on the grassy ground. "Because I want no one else but you."

Slowly, as to not startle her, he caressed her cheek, then her neck. His fingers ghosted over her cleavage, trailing down to untie her obi. Once the bright fabric was untied, he carefully opened her kimono, giving her plenty of warning and time to stop him if she so wished. She didn't.

Sitting back on his haunches, he observed his masterpiece. The sight of the woman only partly covered by the layers of richly-coloured fabric, hair glittering like a halo in the moonlight that bathed the clearing was enthralling. He returned to her, covering her naked skin with his clothed body, and applied sweet kisses to her body. Her arms, still in the long sleeves, wrapped around his back, her fingers twining in his hair at the pleasure he bestowed upon her.

He withdrew for a moment to divest himself of his ANBU gear and let the clothes and armour fall to the ground in a heap.

He used a hand to guide her head toward his and recaptured her lips, an arm snaking around her middle to pull her body flush to his. She responded to his passion with pleasured gasps, fuelling his desire and making his boy respond to her, arousal coursing through his veins. Her hands tugged at his pants, pulling his underwear down at the same time. They separated so he could pull off his sandals, and she took the time to finish unclothing her body, before they were once again rolling in the grass, mouth on mouth, hands roving every single inch of skin they could find, arms clenched around each other's body in a desperate lovers' embrace.

"Kami, I want to be in you so badly," groaned Kakashi, forehead against the crook of her neck as he tried to regain some modicum of control. "Wanna keep you forever."

"Then fill me," she breathed. "Fill me with your strength and never let me go!"

In one smooth thrust, he sheathed himself inside her velvety channel, groaning at the sensation. He rocked in her, telling her: "I'm never letting you disappear from my life again! Never!"

He punctuated his vow with a sharp thrust in her. She moaned in pleasure at the sensation.

"Never, you hear me? You're mine! And you're gonna live!"

His thrusts became faster and more powerful, filling her again and again with his manhood and making her head swim with desire. Suddenly, he put his hand to her neck and a jolt of raw pleasure shook her body. With a scream, she orgasmed against her lover, clenching around him and forcing him to ejaculate deep in her womb. His canine instincts took over, making him bite down on the juncture of her neck and shoulder to stifle his yell of pleasure.

They lay together, spooning in the moonlight, bodies drenched in sweat. Kakashi had draped a hand around Sakura's middle, drawing lazy circles on her skin with his index. She could feel the satisfaction rolling off of him as he nuzzled the crook of her shoulder, inhaling his scent that had mixed with hers when he had marked her. Her head was pillowed by his toned arm, making her quite comfortable in the warm night.

"Does this make us mates?" he asked, kissing the mark he had placed on her body.

"Yeah," whispered. "And now you'll share my immortality. There's no getting rid of me."

"Good," he retorted. "You're mine now, and I fully intend on letting everybody know, as soon as you've done whatever mission you're on and it's safe once again."

She smiled.

"Hmhmm. What was that you did, at the end? It boosted my pleasure exponentially," she murmured in a teasing voice.

"I just made you whole," he replied, putting something in her hand.

"Is that–" she began, voice choking with emotions.

"Hai. Your chakra suppressor. Figured it was a good time to get you rid of it. I found the bastard a little over four years ago and got rid of him, after bringing him back to Konoha for a bout of interrogation with Ibiki-san and Minato-sensei."

She could feel his smile against her skin and found a dark pleasure at the knowledge that the man had gotten what he deserved.

"I feel different," she mused. "Whole again."

_And now I don't have any reason to stay neither alive nor dead._

Power surged from her body when she countered the jutsu that kept her in stasis, surprising Kakashi as it washed over him.

"What was that?"

"Me becoming alive. Soooo…you're still in me," she murmured teasingly. "Want me to show you what I can do with chakra in bed?" she finished with a leering grin.

"By all means, enlighten me," he answered, chuckling as his erection returned to life.

Late into the night, the lovers danced together under the starry sky, singing their desire to the moon.

Sakura untangled her limbs from her sleeping lover's, listening to his regular breathing. Smiling, she stepped away and walked to the pond to wash the night's evidence away. Taking her time, she immerged her body in water, only to have two arms encircle her waist when she surfaced and a warm body press against her back.

"Awake already?" she asked huskily.

"Hm…I had a great night's sleep, thanks to a certain sexy woman," answered the male behind her, trailing kisses on her shoulder and neck.

"Ah…Is that so?" she replied, angling her head to give him better access.

"Hai, that is so."

He turned her around in his embrace and caught her lips slowly.

"I have to go to Amegakure," said Sakura, resting her head against his chest.

"Amegakure?" he asked with puzzlement, his voice making his chest vibrate under her cheek.

"Hai. I have a quarry to corner, and I just learned that _he_ should stop by Amegakure really soon. That's why it took me so long yesterday. Anyway, if all goes well, _he_ should reveal his hand much faster than expected. So the confrontation should be in Konoha or close to it. Warn the Hokage?" she asked.

The young man nodded in acquiescence.

"Alright, but you have to come back safely to me."

A heartfelt and somewhat dark chuckle answered him.

"Sure. And now that I can use my demonic powers at full capacity, he doesn't stand a chance. And then we'll have to finish what we started yesterday night. How about we lock ourselves in a room and fuck all day long until you get me pregnant with your child?"

The image brought a nosebleed that he had trouble to contain.

"Sure…but I won't fuck you. I'll make love to you," he answered in a dark voice rolling with lust and raw sex. His hand trailed down to cup her womanhood, his index circling her nub, making a husky moan escape her mouth.

"Ah…Deal…Now show me what a man you are…"

And he proceeded to do just that.

Minato eyed the shinobi in front of him. His trained eyes spotted a stance slightly more casual, an air slightly more relaxed and a glint slightly happier than normal in the man's eye.

"Spill it."

"The mission was successful. Suna should soon return to normal, Hokage-sama."

"What. _Happened_?" he stressed. His ninja was not telling him everything. He almost looked like the cat that got the canary. "I _know_ you, something good happened. What _is_ it?"

"I had a night of very satisfying sex," answered the ANBU tartly, watching in sadistic amusement as his Hokage became red in the face. "With a foxy lady who says she will visit the village very soon."

He turned to leave, but the blond called him back.

"How was she?"

"Very good. She seemed very happy when I last saw her."

With a singularly crazy grin–fortunately hidden behind his masks–he added, "When she was screaming my name in the throes of passion," and disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a flushed Yondaime.

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So, how was the lemon? I tried to make it clear that it was lovemaking, not simply sex. Anyway, I'm warning you that there will be a sequel, just a fun little one-shot. I'll post it once this fic is finished. It will be a Harry Potter/Naruto crossover, so don't look for it under Naruto only. Also, this fic will most likely be finished in a month. Max.


	48. Traps and Plans

This is a filler chapter, I'd say, because it's a prelude to the big fight you're all anticipating and waiting for, but I hope you'll like it all the same.

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Rain.

Cold rain.

_It's bloody summer!_

Ooh, what was that on the left?

Rain. And a boulder being pelted by rain.

_Damn country._

Her clothes were sodden wet and clinging to her and, had she been a human, she was pretty sure she would have caught a cold by now. Finally, the village gates came into view. She walked up to the guard and told him, "I seek an audience with Yahiko-san, Nagato-san and Konan-san."

The guard looked at her for a moment, but despite his enquiring stare, she would not remove her hood.

"Alright. Who wants to see them?" he asked her, his voice laced with suspicion.

"Ah, tell them we met once, when I weeded out my rats, that I helped to take out their rats but not in person, and that now I want their help to get rid of the biggest rat yet. They should understand. And so the vixen shall be waiting right here," she finished, jumping on a nearby boulder and settling on it, then opening an oiled paper umbrella and, looking in the distance, smoking leisurely from a pipe, the smoke curling up and disappearing in the rain.

Nonplussed, the guard let his companion take over and left to fetch the trio.

"I say it's her."

"Do you really think so?" asked a young woman with blue hair to her darker-haired teammate.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure the rats she alluded to in the message were Danzo on our part and the fake Konoha-nin on her part. Remember how we met her? And how giant foxes countered Danzo's salamander summons? No one has the fox summons that we know of."

"But we know of a fox in human form who roamed the earth six years ago, who could very well have ordered those foxes to help us, don't we?" finished the third person of the party, a young man with spiky orange hair. "Anyway, we'll get to know for sure. There she is."

From behind, all they could see was a back covered in a long cloak, with an umbrella propped open on her shoulder, and a plume of smoke trailing toward the sky.

"And so we meet again," came a voice they recognized from long ago. "'Lo, kiddos."

"Sakura-sama!"

The figure shook her head lightly.

"Ah, don't call me '–sama', it makes me feel old. Besides, I would feel uncomfortable having you call me that."

They nodded in acceptance.

"Sakura-san, then. You have a favour to ask of us?" asked Yahiko.

"Indeed, I do. But this is not for all ears to hear."

"Come in, we'll be better at ease inside."

She surprised them by putting a hand on Nagato's shoulder and saying, "Guide away."

And then they noticed she had not opened her eyes once.

"So, what is it that you need from us?" asked Yahiko, once they were seated comfortably in a rain-free area–would wonders ever cease?

"Not much. I'm aware that since I sent my foxes to counter Danzo's summons, thus helping you defeat him, a certain man has contacted you a number of times. He tried to manipulate you into becoming nuke-nin and founding an association to capture all the tailed beasts. Fortunately for me," she added with a smirk, "you refused. However, he still returned to offer you to defect many times."

After a moment of silence in which the three younger shinobi exchanged meaningful glances, Konan spoke up.

"What would you have us do?" she asked cautiously.

"Nothing too hard. I don't even wish for you to defect. Your place is here, and apparently, Jiraiya-kun has taught you well, if you refuse to abandon your comrades."

"Eh, you know sensei?" asked Yahiko, eyes sparkling.

"Mhm. I sure do. And I even saw him not too long ago. He's still a master pervert."

They all chuckled, not surprised in the least.

"So, anyway, what I want you to do is to tell that suspicious person that you have heard rumours of a tailed beast that is going straight for Konoha. That should keep him off your back and will give me the edge that I want. Can you do that?"

"Sure, that's not too complicated. Is that all?"

"Hai. I'll take care of the rest. He'll never be a nuisance again," replied the blind woman with a dark, feral smile.

Sakura lounged on a tree outside Konoha, from which she could jump off and be at the village under five minutes if she ran. In other trees around her, the Akatsuki, two demons and Gaara were sprawled, crouched or otherwise sitting on large branches as they waited for the dispatched foxes to bring them news of a certain Uchiha Madara. For now, all they could do was observe and try not to be seen by any patrol.

"It's boring, un," muttered Deidara as he moulded some clay birds.

"That's a fucking understatement," snorted Hidan.

No one replied anything, resorting to nodding instead. Finally, a good five minutes later, Zetsu murmured: "I sense them."

At once, everyone tensed in preparation for battle; Sakura jumped to the ground and waited for the foxes to appear, which they did a moment later.

"So, Narabi, what news do you bring me?" she asked calmly.

"He's not far, probably going to visit the Uchiha. Do you still plan on luring him out of Konoha?" asked the fox.

"Hai. I don't want to injure anybody by mistake, and if we're out of Konoha, he'll have less chances to turn people against us. It's safer for everyone."

The foxes nodded and dispersed with a last call of, "Then we're gonna do our part and lure him out! Good luck!"

Sakura rolled her shoulders and looked up at the trees.

"I'm going now. Don't be seen until he takes the bait, guys."

"Don't worry about us, Sakura-chan. You're the one who'll be in danger, remember? Don't forget you're alive now, and what that entails."

Walking off, she replied, "How could I forget?"

The Hokage Tower was calm, basking in the sun, the sun was shining, the wind was blowing–

"Yo."

To his defence, Minato didn't jump two feet in the air as a russet fox appeared in the middle of his office, but he did take out a few kunai and throw one at the animal in shocked automatic reaction. Fortunately, the fox jumped aside, so the kunai found itself embedded deeply in the floor and not in flesh.

"Whoa, calm down, man. My fur doesn't need a trimming, thank you very much. Hmph. Humans have no manners. In my time, they would have at least offered me tea. How sad the world is becoming," it sighed aggravatingly. "Anyway, just a word to warn you that there's gonna be a weeding today, so you shouldn't interfere, ne? Well, my message's delivered, so I'm gonna go back now. And learn some manners, human."

With a poof of smoke, the summon disappeared as soon as it had appeared, leaving behind a baffled Yondaime.

"Kuso. Get me my team and Sakura-san's ANBU team!"

Sakura made her way through the underbrush, body tense and taut at the unnatural silence. The forest only ever got this silent when a dangerous predator approached, and considering the fact that as a demon, she was considered part of the forest inhabitants, it could only mean that Madara was near. She forced her ears not to twitch on top of her head; giving away that she knew he was there would be a very bad move indeed. Continuing innocently on her way, she stretched her senses out. Small pinpricks on the edges of her senses indicated that her preys were closing in. Good. Now she only had to take them surreptitiously where she wanted them. Smirking internally, she approached a lake and stopped on the shore. Memories swirled in her mind, of the last time she had been there. That time, she had crushed a snake, she mused as she toed the sand that had swallowed the Sannin. And now it was time to crush rats. Maybe she should await her enemies with a little gift…

When Madara stepped out of the forest, his quarry turned around slowly, as though waiting for him. The demoness did not move except for a small cocking of her head to the side. Her smooth voice was deceptively calm, like sleeping water.

"At long last. Let's not talk unnecessarily, shall we? You want my powers, I want your death. Let's fight."

And then he realized that the Uchiha who had followed him were all engaged in battles with shinobi who looked like they could stand their ground against anything the Sharingan-wielders could dish out, leaving him alone with a demon out for his blood. Unbidden, a chill ran down his back at her feral smile. The prey had become the predator.

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Short, I know, but leaving you hanging in the middle of a battle scene would be even more cruel, so don't hate me. Instead, review!


	49. Foxes Rule

Being shit at writing action scenes, I had a feeling that this chapter would be a pain in the ass to write, not to mention crappy as hell, but I think it didn't turn out too bad. Keep in mind that I only began writing it today because a) I concentrated on another fic before and b) I was kinda afraid of writing this and disappointing everyone or something. Stupid, I know, but that's how it was. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this.

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Madara jumped out of the way when a volley of shuriken flew at him and retaliated with giant fireballs. Sakura jumped backward, landing on top of the water, already preparing her next move. With his sharingan, Madara could copy her jutsu, so she would have to either use techniques he wouldn't have enough chakra for or use her unique powers against him. Fortunately, she had already prepared a few things before his arrival. A smirk grew on her face.

Madara parried a blow to his shoulder. The demoness had not moved, so it must have been a clone that had delivered the blow. Yet, as he turned around to eliminate it, he almost stumbled as his mind went blank for a moment.

Taking advantage of the opening, the other male slashed at him, and he only escaped by using his sharingan to teleport on the beach. Still, as his sharingan rove the man's body, he could only admit that he was not dead as presumed.

"What the hell? How are you not dead, Orochimaru? That's impossible!"

The snake Sannin smirked.

"Stranger things have happened, like living far longer than normal humans, ne?"

Madara ignored the barb and parried another blow while trying to figure out how such an impossible thing could have happened. Yet with his sharingan, it could not be a genjutsu and he could see the chakra in the Sannin's body.

Frowning, he erected a wall of flames around the too-pale man to gain some time, but a new volley of senbon at his feet forced him backward. Yet his feet would not move. Glancing down, he saw that they were encased in sand and snorted. Once more, he used his sharingan and teleported away, this time landing on the surface of the lake. Remembering Sakura, he turned around, only barely escaping the tanto that would have pierced his chest.

"You think you can kill me with such a pathetic scheme? What do you plan to do, now that I am here, on the lake?" he jeered.

Sakura smirked widely.

"Why, Madara, I plan to kill you, of course, now that I have you exactly where I want you. As of right now, you're unable to use you sharingan to teleport away, which makes it so much easier to kill you, and I've placed a seal on you that is steadily sucking away your chakra. Of course, you know that chakra exhaustion can lead to death, so I don't have to remind you of that."

Madara snorted and engaged in a taijutsu battle with the demoness. The woman parried his blows, countering with her own chakra-laden fists, but he could predict her moves and evaded her each time, occasionally landing a hit on her.

"Getting tired?" he sneered. "Looks like you were wrong and I still have the advantage."

Sakura could not stop herself from snorting.

"Yeah, right. Don't count your wins yet."

A swish of clothes warned Madara that Orochimaru was once again behind him and he used his sharingan to teleport, only to find it impossible and, taken by surprise, sustained a deep slash on his side. He jumped away, a hand on his side to keep the blood from flowing down. His eyes were wide in shock and surprise when he looked at the white-haired woman.

"What is this? What have you done to me?" he yelled, fear creeping just barely noticeably in his voice.

"Like I said," gloated Sakura, "I've kept you from using your evolved sharingan. Can you feel your chakra seeping away yet?"

With a growl, Madara sent rays of lightning at her, all of them falling from the sky to hit the water around her. With a curse on her tongue, Sakura leapt away, watching as Orochimaru was caught in a ray and electrocuted, the unmistakable odour of burnt flesh wafting to her. Just as she landed further away, a shock rippled through her and she lost consciousness for a moment, only barely registering that Madara had electrified the surface of the lake at the exact same moment she had landed on it.

She came to in the water and quickly swam to the surface, ignoring the twinges of pain that brought her, her lungs screaming for air. However, Madara would not let it go that easily, she knew, and prepared a jutsu while she was still in the dark water and he could not see her.

A water dragon shot out of the depths of the lake and slammed into Madara, sending him flying. As he did a cartwheel to land on his feet, a chakra-laden fist smashed his sternum; blood pooled in his mouth as he panted for breath and crashed on the once again smooth surface of the lake, a feminine hand clutching the collar of his shirt to keep him from sinking down below.

"You're dead, Madara."

The hostile whisper was the last thing he heard before a veil of black fell on his world.

The forest was a complete mess when Minato and his companions appeared, just in time to see a man they recognized as an elder Uchiha get knocked on his ass by a silver-haired man who, while covered in blood, was smiling widely like crazy.

"Come on! Can't you fucking do more than that? I had hoped that an Uchiha would be able to inflict me some sweet pain. I'm kinda fucked to see that you're that pathetic! And Sakura-chan had promised me you would be fun to fight with!"

He ranted some more, grumbling, as he stepped down from his perch on a branch and tied the clearly unconscious Uchiha up solidly.

"Damn. Shoulda totally asked Sakura to give me a lashing beforehand to make this worth it. Can't believe the geezer was supposed to be strong."

The Konoha nin were startled by the appearance of a long-haired teen next to them.

"Itachi-kun? What are you doing here?" asked Rin, surprised.

"This _is_ my family. I want to see that the rotten part is taken care of properly."

Rin stared at him strangely.

"Not all Uchiha want to overthrow the Hokage. I have made subtle comments about how that could be nefarious for us and the Uchiha clan is divided. I believe those who wanted to rebel have all been taken care of."

A voice behind them took them by surprise, making them whirl around to see a blond man with two Uchiha on his shoulders.

"Damn right, un. Hey, Itachi junior, you should tell your older counterpart to listen to Sakura more often, like you did. Maybe he'd be less prissy about everything, un."

The silver-haired man snorted, landing next to them with the Uchiha in his grasp bumping painfully on a nearby rock, which didn't seem to faze the nuke-nin in the slightest.

"I doubt it. He's got a stick so far up his fucking ass that I doubt anyone could get it out."

He observed the Konoha nin and smirked.

"Guess you wanna see Sakura, eh? She should be fighting that fucking Madara right about now. Wanna go?" he asked with a large smirk.

Without waiting for an answer, the two nuke-nin took off and Minato and his companions followed them without even concerting the Hokage. Everyone wanted to see the elusive white-haired kunoichi and hoped that she was alright.

Along the way, they encountered others from the Akatsuki, all of them holding one or more Uchiha. The last one to join them was the older Itachi, who looked impassively at his younger self and murmured a soft "Hn, you did well" to him.

They all stopped at the beach, just in time to see a drenched and burned Sakura slit Madara's throat with a kunai. Her head snapped up in their direction at their approach and the smile she sent their way was positively heavenly. She threw Madara's body to them, the once proud Uchiha landing unceremoniously on the beach like a dismantled puppet.

While they looked at the body, she pressed a hand against her temple and let her medical chakra heal her eye, then took off her blindfold in a wide movement and let it float away in the wind, yelling ecstatically: "At long last! Freedom!"

She slowly walked up to the group, smiling like no weight was on her mind, only to be engulfed in a group hug.

"Ah, it's so good to finally _see_ you guys!" exclaimed the female demon happily.

At long last, after effusions of happiness and inquiries of "How have you been?" and "I've missed you so much!", Minato pondered, "It's almost anti-climatic. I thought that Uchiha Madara would be much harder to kill…"

Sakura shrugged, explaining, "We've worked on a plan to bring him down for years. I knew that once I got him on the lake, I had him."

Obito still didn't understand.

"How come? Because water is the opposite of fire, which is the main element of all Uchiha? Somehow, that doesn't seem to be enough."

The white-haired kunoichi laughed happily.

"Of course that's not enough. That's not why I got him there. You see, I was fully aware of how dangerous he was and I knew that genjutsu would never fool him–and you all know that genjutsu is my specialty–and that he could read all my moves with his sharingan. Plus he could teleport. I couldn't disable his sharingan, but I could seal away any way to open a portal to teleport in a specific location if I used a seal large enough. Only, knowing him, he would spot it right away because it had to be drawn in blood. So I had Kisame here help me with that. He is very good with water jutsu, so I had him stop the water from reaching small portions of the lake at times so I could draw seals on the bottom of the lake. As long as Madara was above the lake, he could not teleport. Just to be certain that he would not be a problem if ever he escaped, I added a second seal, below the lake, to suck away the chakra of the first human who used chakra in the area above the seal."

Her smile turned into a feral smirk, her eyes sparkling.

"As soon as I stepped on the shore, I activated the seals, and as you know, I am _not_ human."

She nearly whistled innocently at the looks on the faces of her old teammates.

"What can I say? Foxes are tricksters. Of course, just to have more fun with him, since he did ruin my life to a point, I unearthed Orochimaru's body and had a shadow clone control him. I simply had to control his muscles and pour chakra in his body to make him act normally. Nothing I'd never done before. It sometimes pays to be a medic-nin. And I hid the chakra strings and the clone under a layer of fox illusions. I knew, by experimenting with Itachi, that the sharingan could not see through them. As I've said, foxes are tricksters. We specialize in illusions."

Her ears twitched happily on top of her head and she hugged Kakashi close to her body, nearly purring.

Minato smiled at the scene, happy for the both of them.

"Well, now that you killed Madara and cleaned the Uchiha clan, what do you inted to do? Will you come back to Konoha?"

Sakura looked at him, a more serious look on her face.

"Iie. I thought about it, and I know you would accept me and the guys, but your village never would."

Minato opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off swiftly.

"I know that you think the villagers would be open-minded, but in my time, my best friend was ostracized for only harbouring a demon in his stomach. What do you think would be their reactions to three free demons and a handful of nuke-nin?" she asked rhetorically, shaking her head. "Iie, Minato-san, I can't come back. However, I'll take on missions as long as I'm listed as a freelance kunoichi. We've talked about it. The guys would be willing to do that too. We just want to be a group with no affiliation to any village. If it was known that Konoha had three demons working for her, it would not end well. Other villages would try to capture other demons, and we demons have to stay neutral. However, that being said, we are willing to help you when you need us, just as we will help other people if we judge them worthy. Would that be alright with you?"

The Hokage nodded, eyes moist.

"Hai. Hai, of course. And you're welcome in Konoha whenever you want to visit. I know a few geisha and their adopted children who would love it if she came by."

Sakura nodded with a smile, nearly dragging Kakashi with her.

"Come one, Kakashi-kun. Let's go see them. And then I'll show you how sensitive men get when I stroke them with chakra-laced fingers. I'm sure you'll find that very interesting. And I'll have to have you meet my kids. Yours looks just like you, you know…"

As their voices faded in the distance, Obito looked at the Akatsuki and said, "You guys are so whipped. You'd _so_ do anything for Sakura-san!"

Kyuubi raised an eyebrow and snorted. Jeering, he taunted the young Uchiha.

"I don't see you _not_ following Time's footsteps, gaki."

Cries of outrage at the name erupted in the forest, but everyone only laughed at the pouting teenager.

"I'M NO GAKI, KUSO!"

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Well, guys, here it is. This fic is finally completed. I hope the ending did not disappoint you and I'll see you next week for the one-shot sequel, which is a HP/Naruto crossover.

No promises or anything, but if I did a short fic about Sakura's time as a spy in the Akatsuki, would any of you be interested?

Also, I don't remember if I answered that question or not, but someone asked me what was a nuke-nin. Obviously, that's a missing-nin. And a gaki is a brat.

Kudos, everyone. Hope you'll read more of my stories.


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